Journey Of The Heart
by tsubasamemories16
Summary: Journey Of The Heart follows the life's and adventures of mermaid princess Karen, her older brother Seiru and her best friend Renae as the explore the world below and above the waves. Journey Of The Heart also features a wide cast of characters, not only original characters but characters from CLAMP's CCS and Disney's TLM.
1. Chapter 1

Karen sat quietly inside the fake shell that had been crafted out of very strong collars to be a stage for today's concert. After a few moments, the seaweed curtains parted and the shells mouth opened, exposing her to the audience of merpeople and queuing her to start singing.

"Even though I'm destined to become sea foam, I will always love you with all of my heart. Once I dissolve in the ocean and sky, I'll always watch over you. I want to be closer to the stay heaven at the surface of the sea.

I longed for the day when that was no longer a dream. Under thick clouds and the ever cross waves I saw you at the bottom of the sea on that day. Even though my new legs are aching I love you with all of my heart.

I can't dance but I don't care, I'll watch over you always. I realized It's not possible to obtain the star in the castle. No matter how loud I scream my voice wont reach your ears.

On the ship that night, I heard my sisters call, throwing me a silver knife. They suggested quickly to kill him. "I." Sing; oh sing on the ocean floor.

Putting all my heart into a song. Even though you can't hear my voice, I won't stop with my singing. Hoping my voice wraps around you in the ever flowing wind.

Even though I am destined to become sea foam, I will always love you with all of my heart. Once I dissolve in the ocean and sky, I'll always watch over you."

Once Karen finished singing a single tear slid down one of her cheeks and the shell stage closed once again. It then sank down below the normal stage to an area none of the merpeople in the audience could see. Once out of view, the shell stage opened again and Karen swam out of it and sat down in a seashell chair.

Karen's friend Renae swam up to her and congratulated her on a good performance. "You were wonderful Karen-Chan."

Karen looked at Renae a frown on her lips and tears on her cheeks. "I hate that song Renae-Chan. It is horrible, and so sad. I can't believe my Father would make me sing such a terrible song."

Renae looked at Karen with sympathy, unsure how to cheer her saddened friend. "I'm sure he had his reasons. It's based off that old legend, isn't it?"

Karen nodded as she whipped away the tears that had stained her cheeks. "He said it was, and that even though it is a legend, it is also based on the history of merpeople."

Renae tried to think of a way to cheer Karen up, but the words just wouldn't come.

Karen sighed and looked down at her fins before looking up at Renae a with a sort of twinkle in her eyes. "Renae-Chan I need to get some fresh water, so why don't we go exploring outside the palace?"

Renae recognized the look in Karen's eye far too well, and knew that look always lead to trouble. "B-but shouldn't you go to find O-Sama-" but before she could finish her sentence, Karen had already gotten up and started to drag Renae out of the palace.

"Don't worry Renae-Chan, we won't be gone long. He won't even notice we left. After all we are just exploring and there is no harm in that."

Renae sighed as she followed her suborn friend. "Why is it that whenever you say stuff like that, there's always some kind of trouble?"

"You're just being paranoid Renae-Chan. I promise you nothing bad will happen, and anyway we are already at the kelp garden. So we can't turn back now."

"Why do I even bother?" Renae followed Karen through the kelp garden and they quickly made their way out of the palace.

Karen smiled smugly when they reached the other side of the kelp garden and outside the castle without being noticed by any guards or servants. "The kelp garden really is the best exit out of the castle. No one can see you through it since it is so thick and tall. Now let us see what the great sea has to offer us today."

Renae looked around; half hopping someone might catch them and bring them back. "You wouldn't go back if I asked you too, would you?"

Karen shook her head. "We've already made it this far we can't turn back now."

Renae let out a disappointed sigh. "I thought as much..."

Karen simply shrugged and swam forward further and further away from the castle.

While she knew following Karen would always lead to trouble, Renae followed anyways worried that Karen would get in over her fins.

Karen continued to swim forward till she reached the great abyss and saw something shimmering not far from a sunken ship. "I wonder what that thing is. Do you think it could be a human thing?"

"A- a human thing?" Renae stuttered. She knew how Karen was drawn to the human world, despite the dangers it imposed. "Shouldn't we be staying away from such things?"

"Just because my Father thinks human things are dangerous doesn't mean he's right. So I'm going to see what that thing is." Karen began to swim towards the shimmering object at the edge of the abyss and when she reached it she found it was round and had beautiful pictures on it. "This must be what a human girl looks like."

Renae approached with caution. "It isn't just O-Sama you know, everyone says so."

"Well everyone is wrong. They've never even met a human, so how can they know if they are bad? They just assume the worst."

Renae sighed at her friend's unusual logic. "You've never met a Human either you know."

"Yes, I know but I don't assume they are bad. If every creature in the sea has the potential for good, who's to say humans don't to?"

Unable to think of anything more to say, Renae just sighed once again.

Karen held the strange round object gently wondering what it was and what it was used for. "I bet this thing is very useful to humans."

"Can we get out of here now? I have a bad feeling about this place."

"Oh Renae-Chan, stop being such a worry whale. We are perfectly safe here."

But still, Renae couldn't shake the strange feeling she had.

Karen continued to look at the strange round object in wonder. She was amazed by how beautiful it was. "I wonder how humans use this thing."

"Who knows..."

Karen looked at the strange object; she ran her hands over the pattern on it. It was so amazing and beautiful. "It is so incredible Renae-Chan. I bet humans use this thing all the time."

"Maybe..." Despite Karen's enthusiasm, Renae couldn't seem to shake the feeling that they were being watched. Just as she was thinking about it, Renae thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.

Karen was mesmerized by the strange human object; she had never seen anything like it before. She was so entranced by it she didn't even notice Renae looking around to see if something was there.

Realizing that her friend was oblivious in this state, Renae decided to voice her concern. "Um, Karen-Chan, I think something's out there"

Karen looked up from the strange object finally noticing the concern on her friend's face. She smiled at Renae to try and calm her down and said in a calm voice. "I'm sure there is nothing but some fish out there Renae-Chan."

"I'm serious, I really saw something."

"I'm sure all you saw were some fish."

Just as Renae was about to protest again, the hull of the ship was run through by the teeth of a large shark. Renae screamed as the shark snapped at them, stuck in the small whole it made.

Karen screamed in terror and shock. The shark snapped at them again and tried to get through the hole it had made, but before it could Karen grabbed Renae's hand and began to swim away as fast as she could.

The shark struggled a bit more and tore through the hull of the ship. It swam after Karen and Renae with great speed.

Karen held tightly onto Renae's hand as she swam away from the large beast swimming after them. She saw it catching up to them and quickly dodged behind a rock.

"We can't keep swimming away forever. We should split up and then whoever the shark isn't chasing can swim to the palace for help."

Karen shook her head at her friend. "It's too fast, there is no way one of us would be able to get to the palace and back in time."

"It'll get both of us if we try to keep this up. This is our best chance." More concerned for her friend's safety, Renae swam out of their hiding spot and directed the shark's attention away from Karen.

"Renae-Chan!" Karen was shocked by her friend's actions but she knew there was no way of stopping her now so she took the opportunity her friend gave her and began to swim in the direction of the palace.

Back at the palace, Karen's brother Seiru searched for his younger sister who seemed to have disappeared after her performance earlier that day.

Karen came swimming through the corridor her brother was in and paralleled right into him at top speed. "Seiru Onii-Chan! Renae-Chan, she's in danger! A shark is chasing her!"

"What?!" Seiru resisted the urge to scold her for swimming off as Renae's safety came first. "Where is she? Take me to her!"

Karen swam back to where she and Renae had last been together, leading Seiru as fast as she could.

Meanwhile, Renae did her best to escape from the shark. She spotted a crevice that looked just right for her to take shelter in and dove inside.

The shark followed her and tried it's hardest to reach her inside the crevice. Renae stayed as far back as she could, just out of the shark's reach. "Someone help!"

Karen heard Renae's scream for help and swam to where she heard it coming from with Seiru. "Renae-Chan! I brought help! Seiru Onii-Chan and I are going to save you."

"Hang on Renae-Chan!" Seiru swam as fast as he could and tackled the shark. The shark then turned its attention to Seiru and he continued to fend it off.

Karen quickly swam over to the crevice Renae was hiding in and helped her out. "Renae-Chan are you okay?"

"I think so."

Seiru quickly gained the upper hand against the shark. The shark began to get desperate and charged at Seiru, just barely catching his arm. Seiru brushed off the wound and tail slammed the shark into the rock bed. Dazed from the hit, the shark gave up and swam away.

Karen swam over to Seiru with Renae and looked at his injury. "Onii-Chan! We have to get you back to the palace."

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch." Seiru gave Karen a stern, scolding look. " Mind telling me what you were doing out here in the first pla-" Before Seiru could finish scolding Karen, Renae swam into his arms with tears forming in her eyes. Seiru comforted Renae for a moment, and then looked back at Karen. "We'll talk about this later."

Karen looked down at her fins but nodded slowly, feeling very ashamed of herself. "We should get Renae-Chan back to the palace she needs her rest."

"Right." Seiru looked down at Renae. "Can you swim on your own Renae-Chan?"

Renae nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'll be fine. Thank you, Prince Seiru."

After making sure Renae was alright, Seiru returned to the palace with Karen and Renae.

The return trip to the palace seemed to take forever for Karen, though she knew it was only a short swim. As she swam back with her best friend and older brother, she stayed silent knowing that as soon as she was home safe her brother would have quite a lot to say to her.

When they returned to the palace, they found their mother Queen Sakura had also been looking for Karen. "Oh Seiru, you found her. Karen where have you been?"

Karen looked down at the sea floor for a few minutes before finally looking at her mother with a small frown on her face. "I... I went outside the palace for a bit mother."

Sakura gave her daughter a thoughtful look. "Now Karen, you know you're not supposed to leave without telling anyone. And why did you leave right after your concert? Everyone thought you sang so beautifully."

Karen bit her lower lip slightly due to nervousness. She didn't want to lie but she didn't want her mother to know she hated the song that her father had made her sing. So she decided to only tell her mother part of the true story. "I...I was feeling restless after sitting in that giant shell for so long mother."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh a little. Karen had such a free spirit, so she could understand how she wouldn't like sitting still for that long. "I understand sweetie, but next time let someone know where you're going, alright?"

Karen was shocked when her mother started laughing but quickly smiled at her and nodded when she was asked to inform someone when she went outside the palace. "Of course mother. I will tell someone next time."

Sakura smiled at her free spirited daughter. "I know you don't like being cooped up here in the palace, but I hope you understand that aside from being the princess, you are also our precious daughter. Your father and I would never forgive ourselves if we let anything happen to you." Sakura placed her hand gently on Karen's cheek as she spoke. Karen could see the love reflected in her mother's eyes.

Karen suspiciously rested her face gently on the hand that was cupping her cheek and smiled fondly and lovingly up at her mother. Her mother really was a wonderful mermaid, and Karen didn't want to ever do anything to lose her mother's love. "I understand mother. I'll be more careful next time and make sure someone knows where I've gone."

"That's all we ask sweetie." Sakura kissed Karen on the forehead and swam away.

Seiru looked at Karen with disappointment. "I sure hope that was worth it Karen."

Karen turned around when she heard Seiru begin to talk to her and glared at him, her anger easily evident in her eyes. But the glare only lasted for a moment before she swam off in the direction of her room without saying a single word to him.

Renae was about to go after Karen, but Seiru stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder. With more that he wanted to say to her, Seiru swam after Karen. He followed her to her room and closed the door behind him. "We need to talk."

Karen didn't turn around and look at her brother this time she kept her back to him and quickly swam over to her vanity, deciding to look at Seiru's reflection instead of directly at him. "What do you want to scold me about now?"

But Seiru's voice wasn't harsh like Karen was expecting. He spoke to her in a calm manner that caught Karen a bit by surprise. "That all depends on your answer. I just want to know what was so important that you would put yours and Renae's lives in danger. You know that canyon is known for its schools of sharks."

Karen could still tell that Seiru was scolding her for her actions, but it was different from the way their father would scold her. If he had known what happened, there would have been none stop yelling. "I forgot about the canyon's sharks. I thought we were safe. I would never put Reane-Chan in danger."

Seiru tried to find the right words to say. He knew that Karen didn't like being scolded, but if she wasn't then she would never learn. At the same time, he didn't want to alienate his only sister. "Why did you go in the first place? I can't imagine there would be anything there for you."

Karen closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering Seiru's question. "I wanted to explore the area; you never know what you may find. After all things go missing all the time and you never know where they'll turn up."

Seiru sighed as he knew what Karen was looking for. "You weren't looking for human things again, were you?"

Karen stayed silent for a few moments and then just simply nodded while looking down at her fins which she was swishing back and forth since she could never truly stay still.

"Karen, you know those humans are dangerous."

Karen swiftly swam away from her vanity and right over to where Seiru was floating. "Father says humans are dangerous but he has no proof, and I just can't believe that people who make such amazing things could be bad."

Slightly surprised by Karen's sudden outburst, Seiru did his best to keep his voice calm. "And where's your proof that he's wrong? Not only do the things they dump pollute the ocean, but they capture fish to eat them."

Karen glared at Seiru once again the anger within her eyes from earlier returning. "I'm sure not all humans are like that! I mean not all Merfolk are the same so why should all humans be?"

"Karen!" feeling his own temper rise, Seiru stopped himself before starting another argument with Karen. Doing his best to keep calm, Seiru spoke again. "Look, I won't tell father where you went

today. Just don't go near the Humans again, alright?" Feeling that he would soon lose his temper should the conversation continue, Seiru turned around and left the room.

Karen let out a long sigh and then swam over to her bed. For a few seconds she simply sat on the edge mulling over the events of the day, but shortly after that she grabbed her sea sponge pillow and screamed into it letting out all her anger and frustration.

Just then, Karen heard a knock on the door. Who could it possibly be now? Karen wasn't sure she felt like dealing with anyone else.

Karen sighed, put her pillow back where it belonged and swam over to the door so she could check and see who wanted to talk to her now.

Renae floated outside Karen's door, hoping to make sure her best friend was alright and to maybe mend a possibly damaged brother-sister relationship.

When Karen opened the door she was actually happy to see Renae. After her fight with Seiru she was glad to see the face of her best friend. "Renae-Chan, are you okay now?"

"I'm fine, but what about you? Please don't tell me you and the Prince had another fight."

Karen nodded she wasn't happy she was never happy she and Seiru fought. It always left her feeling miserable, and angry. "I just wish someone in my family understood why I find humans and the things they create so fascinating Renae-Chan."

Renae floated there trying to think of something to say. What would you even say in a situation like this?

Karen let out another sigh and quickly swam back over to her bed. "It just isn't fair; I just don't understand why my father hates humans so much. All he ever says is that they are dangerous and to stay away from them. But I want to know why he thinks they are dangerous. Why won't he let me know more about them?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons. No matter what happens, the King loves you very much and only wants you to be safe."

"I know he loves me, but I just feel like he doesn't know me at all and that he wants to keep me trapped inside this big palace of his."

"Oh Karen-Chan..."

Seiru swam through the corridors in deep thought. How could he get Karen to understand? What she was doing was dangerous, and he was only worried for her safety. They all were.

Just as Seiru was mulling it over, he heard a voice that brought him back to reality. "There you are Seiru; I've been looking for you."

Seiru looked up to see his father, King Syaoran swimming his way. "F-Father, is something wrong?"

Syaoran seemed calm enough as he swam up to Seiru. "Sakura told you found you found your sister?"

"Yes, she's in her room now. I lectured her for leaving on her own and she's mad at me, but she seems alright."

"Good, thank you for doing that. I know it's not easy for you to come down on her like that, but she has to learn that her actions have consequences." Syaoran then sighed and head his head. "What in the world am I going to do with that girl?" Syaoran sighed again before noting the cut on Seiru's arm. "Seiru, what happened to your arm?"

Seiru panicked and hid his arm behind his back. "I-it's just a scratch, nothing serious."

Now doubting that Seiru was telling him the whole story, Syaoran grabbed Seiru's arm so he could examine it more closely. "That looks like a shark bite!" Syaoran looked Seiru strait in the eye with a penetrating gaze. "Seiru, tell me what happened."

While Syaoran got Seiru to tell him everything that had happened at the canyon, Karen stayed in her room trying to figure her father out, while also talking to Renae about how she felt trapped and repressed in the palace and under the control of her father's overprotective nature and rules.

Renae continued her efforts to cheer Karen up, but was interrupted when she heard a knock on the door.

Karen looked up at the door and raised her eyebrow in confusion; she wasn't expecting that anyone else would want to see her today. "Come in."

Karen and Renae's eyes widened when they saw Syaoran come through the door. "Renae-Chan, would you mind leaving us alone for a while? I need to speak to my daughter alone."

Renae looked from Syaoran back to Karen, catching the tone of seriousness in his voice. Not wishing to anger him more, Renae swam past him and into the hallway.

Karen stared at her father fear coursing through her from head to fins. She knew that whenever her father came to her room to speak to her it was never a good thing. She just knew that she was about to be yelled at once again.

Syaoran gave Karen the same look he gave Seiru and crossed his arms. "Mind telling me where you were today Karen?"

Karen bit her bottom lip slightly the fear she felt inside growing stronger and stronger. "I went for a swim with Renae-Chan after the concert was over father. I needed to stretch my fins after being in that giant shell for so long."

Syaoran kept eye contact with Karen as he continued. "You know, funny story... I just swam into Seiru earlier, and he had quite the cut on his arm." Syaoran's voice became serious and piercing, making Karen flinch a little. "Looked a lot like a shark bite."

Karen eyes shot wide open making her shock evident, and the fear she was feeling was finally making its self known psychically by making Karen's whole body shake. "Father I didn't know there were sharks there! I swear, I thought we were safe. I would never put Renae-Chan or Seiru Onii-Chan in danger!"

Syaoran finally let his anger known as he raised his voice to Karen. "You know better! I told you time and again not to leave the palace, and to stay away from those **HUMANS**! They're dangerous and so are the things they make! What do I have to do to get through to you?!"

Karen held back the tears that she felt forming and held a strong gaze with her father as he yelled at her once again. She had lost count of how many arguments they'd had, but she knew to stay strong and not let her father see how truly upset she was. "How can we know what humans are truly like if you won't let me study and learn more about them?!"

"**THAT'S ENOUGH!**" Syaoran's anger had finally reached its breaking point. No matter what he said, Karen just refused to listen. "You are beached until further notice, and I don't want to hear another word about humans! You're not to go looking for them, you're not to talk about them, and if I see so much as evidence of human things in this palace you won't ever leave this room **again!**"

Karen once again held back the tears that were threatening to trickle down her cheeks. No matter how upset she was she would not let her father see her as weak and childish. She simply decided to finally look away and break the intense gaze she had been sharing with her father. For a moment she simply floated in front of him and stared down at the sea floor, but the moment ended quickly and she went swimming past Syaoran and out of her room as fast as her fins could carry her.


	2. Chapter 2

The two young Mermaids sat there in the throne room for what seemed like hours. One of them held a pen to a sheet of music and started to sing. "Oh the waves roll low, and the waves roll high. And it goes under a..." The red headed Mermaid paused a moment and wrote something more on the music sheet. "... Bright blue endless sky."

The brunette mermaid smiled at her friend and nodded to show her that she liked what she had come up with. She then gently began to sing herself to the tune the two had come up with. "... Waves try to measure, days that we treasure."

As the redhead listened, she smiled brightly and began to sing again. "Wave hello..." As if reading her mind, the brunette joined her in harmony. "... And wave goodbye." The redhead turned towards her friend and grabbed both her hands. "Oh Sakura, it's beautiful!"

Sakura was beaming she was so happy, she could barely believe that her and her best friend had written a song together. "Athena it's all thanks to you. You were the one who came up with the idea to write a song together."

Athena held the finished piece close. "I just hope Red and Syao like it."

Sakura nodded. She was nervous that the song was finally finished but only she and Athena had ever heard it. She just hoped others would like it as much as she did. "Do you want to show them the song? I think I saw them earlier in the castle garden."

"That's a great idea!" Athena carefully rolled up the sheet music and swam to the garden with Sakura.

During the entire swim to the garden, Sakura couldn't stop smiling. She was extremely excited to show Red and Syao what she and her best friend had created together. It was her pride and joy. But as she and Athena reached the garden, she started to feel like sea slugs were doing flips in her stomach. She was nervous they wouldn't like the song.

Sensing Sakura's nervousness, Athena stopped and gave Sakura a concerned look. "What's wrong Sakura?"

Sakura frowned slightly before shaking her head and looking more directly at her friend to voice her worry. "I'm just a little worried that they won't like the song Athena."

"Don't you like the song Sakura?" Athena looked at her worried friend with a caring gaze. "Because if you don't like the song, then no one will. Singing is about expressing your feelings in hopes that they reach someone's heart. If you don't like the song your singing, then it will be reflected in your song."

Sakura smiled at Athena. She always knew what to say to take away Sakura's fears and worries. Sakura always felt lucky to have a best friend like Athena. "I love the song Athena, I love it with all my heart. I think it is a beautiful song."

Athena smiled back at Sakura. "That's the spirit. Now, let's go find Syao and Red and sing our song for them."

Sakura nodded and with Athena swam through the garden to where Red and Syao where. When they got there they saw the two boys mock fighting one another, but like always Red was winning.

Syao charged at Red and grabbed him by the waist. "You won't beat me this time Red!" But just as Syao was about to follow up, Red broke free from his grip.

Red laughed at Syao and quickly swam behind him and grabbed his fins, causing him to stumble forward and end up with a mouthful of sand. "Better luck next time Syao."

Syao spat the sand out of his mouth and struggled to escape Red's grasp, which proved to be a difficult task. "Alright, you win already! Let go of my tail Triton!"

Triton released Syao's tail and grinned over his triumph. It was always good to be victorious in a fight with his brother. But he quickly noticed the girls and made Syao aware of their sudden presence in the garden.

Realizing the presence of his friends, Syao quickly got up and brushed himself off. He did his best to keep it from looking like he just got his tail whipped for the umpteenth time. "H-hi Sakura."

Sakura smiled and waved at Syao well blushing slightly. "H-hello Syao." She then quickly turned and said hello to Triton so as to not be rude to her friend. "Hello Red." Triton simply nodded to say hello.

Athena smiled at the two Merboys, starting to feel somewhat nervous herself. "Sakura and I wrote a song today, do you want to hear it?"

Triton looked at Syao and then both boys nodded together. "We would love to hear the song you wrote Athena."

Athena pulled out the sheet music and she and Sakura began to sing together in two part harmony. "Oh the waves roll low and the waves roll high, and so it goes under a bright blue endless sky waves try to measure days that we treasure wave hello, and wave goodbye"

Syao blushed as he listened intently to the song. He'd always thought Sakura had such a pretty singing voice and loved to listen to her sing.

Once Sakura and Athena finished singing Sakura smiled nervously at Syao and Triton. "So what do you think?"

This was his chance to compliment her, and to say something to make her smile. As Syao opened his mouth, a voice that wasn't his spoke in his place.

"You call that singing?" A young Octopian girl around the same age as the others swam in behind Sakura and Athena. "I thought I heard someone torturing a catfish so I came to investigate. Turns out it was just you two making noise."

"Take that back Ursula!" Syao yelled at the Octopian girl. Sakura and Athena worked hard on that song, and it was really great!"

Sakura was shocked by Ursula's sudden appearance but she wasn't going to let the Octopian girl's words get to her. Ursula had a knack for being cruel with her words, and Sakura had learned a long time ago to never take them to heart. But hearing Syao defend her and Athena's song brought a smile to her face. "I'm glad you like the song Syao."

Seeing the cute moment between Sakura and Syao irritated Ursula more than being ignored. "Of course you'd like it baby brother, since it's clearly written about the the surface. Still dreaming about the humans I see." Ursula swam around the garden behind Syao and waved her finger at him. "You know what Father would say if he knew about your little 'hobby'."

"Shut up Ursula, you don't know anything." Ursula knew just how to get under her younger brother's fins, and this was one of her best methods.

Sakura looked between Syao and his older sister with worry. She didn't like to see her friend upset but she also didn't want to make things worse by jumping into the situation. She then looked between Triton and Athena seeking and hoping to find an answer to the growing problem.

Syao continued to yell at Ursula, not even caring that she was just goading him for a reaction. "Besides, Father's wrong about the humans, and one of these days I'm gonna prove it!"

Triton quickly swam over to his brother and rested a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him. "Syaoran calm down, keep a level head brother. Ursula is simply trying to get a rouse out of you. Don't let her effect you so much. Getting angry at her and yelling isn't worth it."

Realizing Triton was right, Syaoran looked down at his fins in silence. He couldn't believe he let Ursula rile him up like that, and in front of Sakura too.

Triton looked at his brother with a hint of disappointment; it was childish how Syaoran had reacted to Ursula's taunting. "You must remain calm next time Syaoran do not let her provoke you. But I also must tell you to stay away from humans Syaoran, you don't want to anger father, remember last time my brother? It did not end well for anyone."

Ursula floated behind Triton while he scolded Syaoran, which only seamed to upset him more. How could he side with their horrible sister? "So now you're taking Ursula's side?!"

Triton's brows furrowed and he frowned down at Syaoran. He was not amused by his younger brother's lack of control. "I am not siding with anyone Syaoran; I am just trying to be logical. You know how father gets when he learns about you investigating the humans. I just don't want father to become angry with you again."

Syaoran knew his brother didn't share his feelings about humans, but still he refused to give up. At least he knew there was someone who believed in him. "I don't care if you approve or not Triton, but I'm not giving up. One day I **WILL**prove, to both you and to Father, that the humans are not are enemy. It's true that some humans are bad, but they can't all be like that. Just like there are good fish and bad fish, I know there are good humans up there. And I'm going to prove it to you one way or another." Syaoran turned his back on his brother and swam off.

Sakura was about to swim after Syaoran when Triton stopped her. He shook his head and just let out a small sigh. "No Sakura, Syaoran needs time to be alone and calm down. So for now just let him be. I will talk to him later."

Athena frowned as she knew Triton's "talks" with Syaoran didn't always go over very well. They were both rather stubborn, believing themselves to be right. True that the brothers were close, but when it came to their views on humans they were miles apart. Still, she couldn't help feeling that Syaoran might be right, and she knew Sakura felt the same. "Don't you think you should at least try to give them a chance?"

Triton turned and looked in shock at Athena; he had never thought she would say such a thing. "I am simply obeying my father's rules. Whether or not Syaoran is right or wrong about humans has nothing to do with this. He is young he will learn soon that what our father does is for our safety."

Athena sighed, and Ursula giggled as she swam off. She enjoyed riling up Syaoran, and seeing the tension building with the others only made it that much more fun for her.

Sakura looked down at her fins before building up her courage and looking at Triton directly, making sure to keep eye contact and not let her nerves take over. "I think Syao made a good point. How can we know all humans are bad? I'm sure that some are good. I'm not saying you should give them a chance Red, but I think you should listen to Syao next time, and please not fight with him. He is your brother after all."

"She's right you know." Athena smiled at Sakura. She sometimes had her shy moments, but she was such a strong and brave Mermaid.

Triton sighed once more but slowly nodded. He knew the girls were right, but it was just so hard sometimes. He wanted to give his brother a chance to prove his beliefs right but he also didn't want to disobey their father. Life as a prince of Atlantica was never easy.

Syaoran swam through the palace with the memory of his fight with Triton still fresh in his mind. There had to be a way of proving to him and the King that humans weren't as bad as everyone said. He continued to wander through the corridor, seeming to stare at the wall until he found the spot he was looking for. As he reached out to touch it Ursula's shrill voice interrupted his thoughts once more, this time in a sing-song tune. "Father's going to be furious."

Syaoran glared at his older sister. He really didn't want to deal with her right now. "Go away Ursula."

Ursula shrugged her shoulders in an uncaring fashion. "Fine, it's not like it really matters to me. But it Father catches you..." Ursula chuckled, "You're gonna be in trouble."

Syaoran just had one thing to say as Ursula swam off. "You know just once you could act like a princess." Syaoran went to touch the wall again, only to be interrupted by a second, more pleasant sounding voice.

"Syao are you alright?" Asked Sakura to her friend. She was still worried about him, he seemed so furious when he had swam off after fighting with Triton. "Syao I know you might be mad at Red, but please don't stay mad at him. He is your older brother and he loves you very much. He only scolds you because he cares about you."

"Yea, I know." It just occurred to him that he must have seemed so hot headed earlier. He hated losing his temper in front of Sakura. "I just wish I could make him see what we've seen. I just can't shake this feeling that there's so much more to them than we think we know."

Sakura smiled at her friend and nodded. She agreed with Syaoran on all of his ideas about humans, and she knew Athena did as well. "Don't worry Syao I'm sure one day Red will realize humans aren't monsters and that there is more to them than we know."

Syaoran looked around the hallway to make sure no one else was nearby. "Hey, I'm going out for a bit. Do you want to come with me?"

Sakura thought about it for a bit then nodded. Exploring with Syaoran was always so much fun. When she went with him, she was able to see things she couldn't even imagine. Amazing and beautiful things she never knew existed before. "But wait Syao, maybe Athena would like to come to."

"Oh... I guess." Syaoran was a little disappointed as he was hopping to spend some time alone with Sakura, but Athena was her best friend and he didn't want to be rude. "We can go get her if you want, but we can't tell Red where we're going. He'll just scold me again and do his best to make sure we can't go where we need to."

Sakura nodded and promised to not tell Triton where they were going before she swam off to get Athena. A few minutes passed with Syaoran floating near the wall by himself before Sakura returned with Athena, but when she did she had a large smile on her face. "Okay then, we can get going now."

"Right." Syaoran opened up the wall which lead to a secret passage and swam through. Sakura quickly followed after Syaoran with Athena.

When they reached the end of the passageway, Syaoran opened the door slightly to make sure the coast is clear. "Uh oh, there's a guard out there." Syaoran quickly closed the door before they were caught. "We'll never get passed him."

Athena thought for a moment before coming up with a solution. "I have an idea." Athena swam back down the passageway towards the castle and disappeared from sight.

Sakura looked at Syaoran, then back at where Athena had been. She was very confused as she had no idea what her friend was planning. She just hoped it wouldn't get Athena into any kind of trouble. "I hope she has really thought this through."

Syaoran cracked the door open again to see if the guard had left yet and saw Athena swimming up to him. "What's she doing?"

Athena started talking to the guard and got him to turn his back to where Syaoran and Sakura were at. She swished her tail a bit further in one direction than another to signal them to go.

The guard was rather confused by Athena's sudden desire to talk to him and tried to brush her off. "That's... very interesting, but I need to return to my post." Just as the guard was about to turn around again, Athena pretended to faint. "H-hey, are you okay?!"

Realizing what Athena was doing, he nodded to Sakura and opened the door. The two swam out, closed the door, and swam off as fast as they could. "That was close, I hope Athena's okay."

Sakura nodded, agreeing with Syaoran. She was still surprised that Athena's strange idea had worked. But she truly hoped that pretending to faint and having that guard become worried about Athena's health wouldn't put her friend into any sort of bad situation.

The two continued on ahead, figuring Athena would catch up when she could. "Hey Sakura, do you know that storm we had last night? I wonder if there's anything new today."

Sakura nodded when Syaoran mentioned the storm. She did remember it, it was a rather vicious storm that cast a dark black shadow over the whole ocean floor. "There might be, the storm was rather rough."

Syaoran continued to look around until he saw what he was looking for. "There's one." Sakura looked where he was pointing and saw a rather large ship. "It's one of those ships. It doesn't look like it's eroded yet, so it must have sunk in the storm last night." with a smile on his face and brimming with curiosity, Syaoran swam over to the ship with Sakura.

Sakura swam at a bit of a slower pace than Syaoran did, as she was a bit wary of the ship. It may have only sunk recently, but that didn't mean there couldn't be dangers waiting inside of it. But Sakura didn't want to ruin the day for Syaoran, so she gathered up her courage and headed inside the newly sunken ship with her friend.

Syaoran marveled at the various items before him. Human things of all sorts were scattered everywhere. He figured they had been thrown from their tables and... other spaces when the ship sank. He didn't know what half the stuff was called or what they were used for, but that just made it that much more exciting to him.

Sakura slowly explored the ship with Syaoran, amazed by all the interesting and strange human things they were finding. Just like Syaoran she didn't know what the items they were finding were used for, but that just meant she could use her imagine to come up with purposes for them.

"Isn't this amazing Sakura? Everything here was created by humans, and serves some task in their everyday lives. We can learn so much from even the smallest, most insignificant item." Syaoran picked up a beautifully decorated box that was sitting on the floor. When he opened it up, a lovely melody played.

Sakura was actually surprised when the box started to play a tune, she never knew humans had come up with something so magical. But part way through listening to the little box play its song, Sakura started to feel like she had heard the tune before. She couldn't remember where but she just had this feeling that the song was one she knew.

Too caught up in his excitement to notice the look on Sakura's face, Syaoran noted the various jewelry inside the music box. "There's stuff inside too. I'll bet humans use these things to keep stuff in. Everything in here looks like jewelry; I'll bet it belonged to a girl."

Sakura looked at the jewelry inside the box and slowly picked up a small pendant from within it."I bet she misses these things. I know I would, especially the pretty thing it all came in."

As the music stopped, Syaoran put the box down and decided to continue looking around. "I wonder what else we can fi-" The look of excitement in Syaoran's eyes turned to horror when he turned around to see the King of Atlantica floating right in front of him, with Ursula at his side.

"You see Father?" Ursula said with a smug expression. "I told you they would be here."

Poseidon stared down at his son, the anger in his eyes very evident. The king was not amused at all with his young son. "**Syaoran! You DISOBEYED me again?! What am I going to do with you?! DO you like ANGERING me boy?!**"

Syaoran flinched as his father angrily yelled at him. He couldn't believe Ursula told on him. Then again, it WAS Ursula, so why should he be surprised. "B-but Father, I-"

"**Don't you DARE talk back to me BOY!**" Poseidon was going red in the face due to his growing rage. "**You WILL head straight to the palace young merman! NOW! You are beached!**"

"But Father!"

"**NO BUTS!** You are beached at that is **FINAL! NOW I SAID GO!**"

Without another word, Syaoran quickly swam past Poseidon and back to the palace. If Ursula hadn't told on him, he never would have gotten in trouble.

Sakura quickly swam after Syaoran without saying a word to Poseidon or Ursula. She tried to catch up to Syaoran to check on him but he was swimming much to fast for her to actually stop him and ask if he was going to be okay.

Syaoran didn't stop swimming. The last thing he wanted was for his father to have another chance to yell at him. As he entered the palace he saw Triton and Athena talking, but just swam past them without a word and went straight to his room.

Sakura kept swimming after Syaoran, but once she herself reached the palace she had to stop because she was becoming exhausted from swimming so fast.

Concerned about Syaoran, Athena and Triton swam to meet Sakura and ask her about what happened. Their questions were answered before they could ask, when they saw Poseidon swimming back with Ursula.

Sakura took a deep breath so she could get her voice back, but once she saw Ursula and Poseidon she became very silent. The king still looked furious, but Ursula had a triumphant smirk on her face.

As Ursula swam by them with Poseidon, she gave them a smug look before continuing with her father. "Of course, you'd never catch me hanging around those awful humans. I honestly don't know where he gets it from."

Poseidon simply nodded in response to his daughter. He was still too busy mulling over the recent events to truly pay full attention to Ursula. He just couldn't understand why his younger son was so rebellious and why he just couldn't do what he was told.

After she was sure they were a far enough distance away, Athena finally spoke up. "Now that's low, even for Ursula. To think she would go tell the King what he was doing. Syaoran must be so upset."

Both Triton and Sakura nodded. Triton knew his sister wasn't the nicest creature under the sea but he never thought she would do something so cruel.

"We should check on him to see if he's okay." It then occurred to her that Syaoran might not want to talk if Triton was there. Not after the fight they had earlier that day. If there was anyone among them who could cheer him up, it would probably be Sakura. "Sakura, maybe you should go talk to him?"

Sakura nodded and swam past Athena and Triton a bit before stopping and looking back at her friends. "I'll tell you how he is doing when I come back." With that she continued on her swim to Syaoran's room. When she got to it she gently knocked on the door.

Syaoran laid there on his bed, admiring a tattered up cricket ball he once found and snuck back to the palace. When he heard Sakura knock on the door, he quickly stashed it in it's hiding spot and answered the door.

Sakura smiled nervously at Syaoran hoping a smile from a friendly face would cheer him up. "I was worried about you... so I thought I would come check on you. I'm sorry about what Ursula did, and I'm sorry your father didn't listen to you. It wasn't fair of either of them."

Syaoran feigned a smile to try an make Sakura feel better. He hadn't meant to make her worry. "It's not your fault Sakura."

Sakura nodded slowly. "I know that, but still what they both did was in no way right. You didn't do anything wrong Syaoran. Remember that you did nothing wrong."

"I just wish I could make him understand." Syaoran swam back to his bed and laid down on his back. "I just don't see things the way he dose. I'll bet Triton's mad at me too."

Sakura swam over to Syaoran's bed and carefully sat on the edge near Syaoran. "I don't think he is mad, just think he is confused. He doesn't understand why you want to prove your father wrong. Just give him some time, I know deep down he doesn't completely agree with your father Syao."

"There's gotta be something." Syaoran sat up and looked at Sakura. "Something I can do to make them understand. I know the answer's out there somewhere; we just have to find it."

Sakura frowned and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "But how can we prove anything? Your father beached you. If you leave the palace now you'll get yourself into even bigger trouble."

Syaoran slammed his fist in the bed, which bounced back slightly. "Darn it, this is our chance to explore a ship that just sunk! All the other ships we've found till now are old and damaged from being under water too long. If we don't check it out now it'll just get ruined like the others." But how? Sure, they could sneak out again. His father would be furious if he found out, but then again he was already pretty mad. How much worse could it get? Syaoran looked back up at Sakura, his voice much more calm. "I'm going."

"If you're going then I am going to. I'm not going to let you go exploring that ship on your own. Something could happen and no one would be there to help you."

Syaoran shook his head at his friend. "Father's already mad, and if I get caught I don't want you getting in trouble too."

"You're my friend Syao and I'm going to help you. I don't care if I do end up in trouble."

"Sakura..." Syaoran could see the determined look in Sakura's eyes. He knew that look. That was the look that said her mind was made up, and he knew far too well there was no changing it. "Alright, let's go."

Sakura smiled nodded and grabbed Syaoran's hands in hers. "Thank you Syao, I promise I won't let you down. Together we'll find the proof we need to show your father he is wrong about humans."

Syaoran blushed as he felt Sakura's warm hands around his. He knew he could always count on Sakura, but sometimes it didn't seem fair. She had already done so much for him, but what had he ever done for her? The only thing he could think of that he had really done was get her in trouble on his account. Still, she never once complained.

Syaoran and Sakura snuck out of the palace once more and headed for the ship from before. He was relieved to find it still in once piece. "Thank goodness, I was afraid Father might have destroyed the ship after all that."

Sakura looked from the ship to Syaoran. Just like last time the ship seemed a little eerie, but Sakura felt brave with Syaoran there. Sakura and Syaoran quickly swam back into the sunken ship and started searching for anything that could help them prove Poseidon wrong about humans.

The two of them searched every nook and cranny, but the events of the day kept eating at Syaoran. Why couldn't he concentrate? It was the whole reason he was there, and yet it prevented him from doing what he needed to do. "Hey Sakura, there doesn't seem to be anything in here either. Let's move on to the next room." Syaoran turned around, but he didn't see Sakura. Wasn't she right behind him? "Sakura? Where'd you go?"

Sometime during the exploring, Sakura had been looking at something very intently and didn't notice a fishing net getting wrapped around her fins. So now here she was trying to free her trapped fins. She pulled and tugged, but the net barely moved. Finally, after a few tried attempts she yanked with all her might and was able to free herself. She freed her fins but also caused the net to come lose. Everything it was holding began to fall down since they no longer had anything to hold them in place. Sakura was shocked and let out a loud scream, but it didn't last very long as soon the heavy objects were on top of her and she was unconscious.

"Sakura?!" Syaoran raced to where he heard her scream. When he reached the room, he could barely see Sakura buried beneath a pile of rubble. "**SAKURA!**" Syaoran hurried over to her and removed the rubble from on top of her. After he got everything off of her, he held her limp body in his arms. "Sakura! Sakura wake up! Please, open your eyes! Sakura!" Syaoran began to panic as Sakura's blood began to stain the water red. He picked her up and swam full speed back to the palace.

Syaoran couldn't believe what had happened. Sakura was hurt, and it was all his fault. He floated there with Triton and Athena, while the doctor did his best to help Sakura in the other room. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't taken her there, she never would have gotten hurt. I should have listened to father." Syaoran clenched his fists at his side, while tears welled up in his eyes.

Triton put both his hands on Syaoran's shoulders and made his brother look up at him. "This was an accident, you had no idea that this would happen. Please brother, do not blame yourself."

"Brother..." But it was his fault, how could Triton float there and say it wasn't? He had been warned on countless occasions that what he was doing was dangerous, but he never listened. And now Sakura was hurt because of his recklessness. If she didn't wake up, he'd never forgive himself.

Triton shook his head and then surprisingly pulled his brother into a hug. "Do not worry brother Sakura will be okay. She is strong. Just wait and see, she will pull through this and be fine in no time."

In any other situation he would have pulled away, but Syaoran couldn't bring himself to do so. Unable to stop himself, Syaoran cried into Triton's shoulder. He'd never felt so helpless.

Triton tightened his hold on his younger brother and didn't say a word. He just let his brother find comfort in his arms an let the younger merman cry. Triton knew that no more words would help in this situation.

Athena wanted so bad to say something to Syaoran, but the words just wouldn't come. She was too shocked by the fact that her best friend lie unconscious in the other room, seriously hurt. Perhaps it was better she not say anything, at least he and Triton seemed to have made up. How could this happen? They were all singing and laughing and having fun earlier that day, how did it come to this? As Athena tried to make sense of the situation, she was brought back by the sudden presence of the King.

Poseidon floated silently near the entrance to the room waiting, for the moment between his sons to end before he made his presence known to them. When their moment did end, he coughed slightly to make sure their attention would turn to him. Triton let go of his brother once he noticed his father, but made sure to stay close to Syaoran in case his younger brother needed his support.

Syaoran faced his father. With tears in his eyes, he bowed his head and begged for forgiveness. "I'm so sorry Father. You were right; everything you said about the humans was true. I should have listened to you, and now because of me... Sakura is..." Syaoran was too upset to continue. As his tears flowed into the salt water, Syaoran felt his father's strong hand on his shoulder.

Poseidon let out a small, mournful sigh before he began to speak to his younger son. "Syaoran, I am truly sorry for what has happened to your friend. I wish this had not happened, but I am glad this incident has shown you the truth about humans. They are dangerous barbarian's young merman. Our world and their world should never mix."

Syaoran shook his head, finally understanding what his father had been trying to tell him all this time. He had certainly had more than enough of the human world for one lifetime. Now all that was left was for him to apologize to Sakura.

Poseidon then nodded to the small group of young merfolk and swam out of the room, leaving them alone again. Triton turned to Syaoran, who still had the same mournful look on his face. "... Syaoran I'm sure the doctor will let you see her now."

Syaoran nodded swam in to the room where Sakura lie on the bed. His heart sank as she greeted him with a smile. Syaoran swam next to Sakura and held her hand gently. "Sakura, are you alright?"

Sakura nodded her head slowly, still feeling disoriented and a little groggy. The last thing she remembered was seeing those large objects falling towards her and then nothing. "What happened? Where am I?"

"Back at the palace. You got hurt when we were on the ship." Syaoran's voice trembled as he spoke. "Sakura, please listen. I have something important I have to tell you." Sakura could feel his hands trembling around hers. He had been so afraid that he might have lost her. He never wanted to feel that way again. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. It's all my fault, I never should have-"

But before Syaoran could finish Sakura interrupted him. "Syao what happened to me wasn't your fault. I was the one who decided to go with you, and I was the one whose fins got trapped in the net. Don't blame yourself for what happened to me Syaoran."

Why did she always have to be like that? No matter what happened to her, Sakura never once complained or got mad at him. No matter how many times he messed up, Sakura always looked at him with that same, genuine smile. But it was that very smile that ate away at him, and made him feel all the more guilty for what he'd done. With new found resolve, Syaoran spoke in a steady and clear voice. "I promise you, from now on I'm going to do things right. No more dangerous explorations and certainly no more humans. I won't put you in danger anymore."

Sakura was shocked; she couldn't believe what she just heard Syaoran say. No more humans? No more exploring? She couldn't believe that this was really happening. The Syaoran she knew would never say such a thing. Learning about humans was his life.

Syaoran knew that Sakura would try to convince him otherwise. Learning about humans and proving them not to be dangerous had been so important to him. But rather than proving his father wrong, he had wound up proving him right. He'd made up his mind, and he refused to turn back now. "I'm sorry Sakura." Syaoran turned around and swam out of the room, turning his back on his former self forever more.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura sat in a small secluded room, empty of other Merfolk save her two children and their friend. There was a brief silence, which was finally interrupted when Karen found herself with tears in her eyes.

Karen was so shocked and amazed by her Mother's story that she couldn't do anything but cry. She never knew her father had such a strong reason for hating humans. She never knew her father had been just like her during his youth. "Mother, I had no idea. I can't believe that something like that could happen. I never knew one incident could so vastly alter someone's thoughts and opinion."

Sakura closed her eyes, that day still so vivid in her mind. It was a day she would never forget. "Syaoran was never the same after that. He wouldn't have anything to do with humans, and soon grew into the Merman you know today." As much as she loved him, Sakura still longed for the happy, curious and adventurous young Merman she once knew. The one she had truly fallen in love with.

Karen just couldn't believe the story her Mother had just told. Her father seemed like a completely different merman in the story and now the curious, and adventurous young merman no longer existed. That thought alone brought more tears to Karen's eyes.

Sakura wiped the tears from her daughter's eyes. "Please don't cry Karen. I just hope that you can understand a little of your father's feelings now. He loves you so much, and doesn't want to see you get hurt the way I did."

Karen nodded, she understood her father a little bit better now. She finally understood why he worried so much. But the story didn't change her own personal beliefs and opinions. "Mother I'm going to change father's opinion. I am going to make him want to know about humans again."

"Karen?" Seiru stared at his sister half in disbelief, half in awe. Even after listening to that story, she still wanted to continue? What would she do if she or Renae were to get hurt the same way?

Karen turned and looked at her brother a new and powerful passion in her eyes. "If father was once as interested in humans as I am, that means that somewhere deep inside of him that interest still exists. All I have to do is find a way to bring it back to the surface."

Seiru sighed as there was only one thing left for him to do. "Well then, I guess I have no choice." Seiru looked at Karen who looked back at him slightly confused. "Looks like I'm gonna have to come with you."

Karen looked at her brother completely in shock. Out of all the things he could have said, that wasn't even on the list that Karen had made in her head. "Are you serious?"

"I know there's no stopping you when you've made up your mind, and I can't very well let you get hurt." Seiru smiled playfully at his younger sister. "You kind of have a knack for getting yourself into trouble."

Karen frowned and glared at her older brother, before letting out an annoyed sigh. "I don't try to get myself into trouble."

"Oh really?" Seiru grabbed Karen and pulled her close to him, her back now pressed against his chest. He then playfully messed her hair. "Because you could have fooled me."

Karen struggled to free herself from her older brother's strong hold on her, but it was no use he was much stronger than her. He wouldn't free her till he wanted to. But when he started to mess up her hair that is when Karen had truly had enough "Stop that! Mother, make him stop!"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle, as they reminded her of how Syaoran and Triton once were. "Alright now Seiru, I think that's enough." With his Mother's words, Seiru let go of Karen.

Karen quickly swam a good distance away from Seiru. She always hated it when her brother used his strength against her. It wasn't a fair fight when he did. But she was even more upset then usual since he had gone as far as messing up her hair this time. "Mother how badly did he ruin my hair?"

Sakura giggled again and ran her fingers through Karen's hair to fix it. It's fine sweetie. There, good as new." Okay, so maybe they weren't quite the same, but seeing them like that still brought a smile to her face.

Karen smiled up at her Mother and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you Mother. Not just for fixing my hair, but for helping me finally understand father just a little bit better."

Just outside the room they were all in, Syaoran swam past with a young mermaid, only a few years older than Seiru. The mermaid carried a piece of parchment clipped to a coral clipboard. "Well Sora-San, what's on the agenda for today?"

Sora coughed to clear her through before she began to read the list of scheduled and planned events to Syaoran. "Well first on your agenda O-Sama is the announcing of the new captain of the guard. Then there is the opening of the new library; then you have to judge the dolphin races..." Sora went on for a while telling Syaoran when and where all these events would take place, till finally she finished and took her eyes off the coral clip board and the list. "As you can see O-Sama you have a very busy schedule today."

"Well, what else is new?" Syaoran sighed. "Alright, let's get started then."

Sora nodded and swam off with Syaoran to help him begin the first royal task he needed to do that day, which was introducing the new captain of the guards to all the soldiers.

"This first one should be interesting to say the least. I can't help but wonder how they're going to react."

Sora let out a small sigh and rolled her eyes. She had a feeling she knew how most of the soldiers would act, but she did harbor a hidden hope that they would prove her wrong. "We will just have to wait and see O-Sama."

"Well, never the less, we-"

But before Syaoran could finish his sentence Karen came swimming through the palace hall at a break neck speed. She was swimming so fast that she created a slight current which caused Sora to fall over and lose hold of her coral clip board. "Slow down young mermaid!" Shouted Sora after Karen. Of course Karen being the polite mermaid that she was looked back and apologized to Sora. All the same, she did not stop swimming and soon she was no longer in Sora or Syaoran's sight.

Just as Karen disappeared from sight, Seiru also swam by almost as fast as Karen. "You can't keep swimming forever Karen!"

Sora was prepared this time and quickly avoided being knocked over once again. But now she was even more upset. "Prince Seiru! You are supposed to be setting an example for your sister!"

Syaoran sighed as Seiru also swam out of sight. "I guess I'd better go see what they're up to."

Sora shook her head and stopped Syaoran before he could go and check in on his children. "No O-Sama you must attend to your royal duties, the soldiers are waiting for you. I shall go and see what those two are up to." With that final statement Sora swam off after Karen and Seiru while Syaoran went to inform the guards of who their new captain was to be.

As he swam after her, Seiru noticed that Karen was beginning to slow down. He took his chance and swam at her full speed, finally catching her and holding her in his arms. "Gotchya!"

Karen giggled and leaned into her older brother's strong, muscular chest. "You only caught me because I let you."

Seiru chuckled at his sister's obvious attempt to deny defeat. "Yea right."

Karen pouted slightly but her eyes showed how truly happy she was at that moment. She loved her older brother dearly and moments like this always filled her with joy. "It's true. I let you win."

"Sure." Seiru let go of Karen just as Sora was catching up to them.

Sora took a deep breath before finally swimming directly over to the two young merfolk, a very angry and upset look on her face. "You are the prince and princess of Akua. You are supposed to set an example for the rest of the young merfolk in this kingdom, but instead you play games and swim at high speeds through the halls of the place? I am sure this is not how your father, the O-Sama of Akua expects you to act." With that said, Sora shook her head at the two and swam off again. She wanted to get back to her important work of helping Syaoran as soon as she could.

A group of mermen had gathered in a room at the other end of the palace. They eagerly waited for their King to arrive and announce their new captain.

One of the older mermen swam up to a younger merman around Seiru's age. He looked to be the youngest there. "So Riku-Chan, who do you think the new captain will be?"

Riku just shrugged to the older Merman. He hated that the older mermen would add Chan to the end of his name, but they tended to ignore his protests about it. Riku's attention turned to the door as Syaoran swam in, soon followed by Sora.

As Syaoran swam into the room, the mermen all lined up according to rank. "Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, Captain Bunjiro retired recently leaving us in need of a new captain. After careful consideration, I have selected a replacement whom I believe to be just what we need." Syaoran looked over to the doorway as a young mermaid swam through and floated next to him. She wore armor similar to that of the other guards, and her long hair was pulled into a pony tail. The other mermen just stared at her as Syaoran continued. "Everyone, meet your new Captain, Hanna-San."

The other Mermen were in a state of shock. Their new captain was a mermaid? This had to be some sort of joke. Still, they all knew better than to question Syaoran's judgment.

Despite their best efforts, Syaoran could still see the doubt in their expressions. "Is there an issue?" Not wishing to upset him, the guards all said no in unison.

One of the younger mermen in the back whispered to his neighbor. "Hey, I'm not complaining. She's actually kinda cute." His neighbor nudged him with his elbow, urging him to be quiet before he was heard.

Hanna swam up to the merman who made the comment about her. She placed her hand on his arm and gave him a flirty look. "You know, you're not so bad yourself." The merman blushed a little as Hanna placed her other hand on his arm, but what she did next surprised them all. Not about to let her gender and age be an excuse for them to disrespect her, Hanna tightly grabbed the merman's arm and flung him across the room into the wall. "Rule number one! Never be deceived by appearances! If you act like that on duty it could cost your life. Or worse, the lives of those you've sworn to protect!"

The merman got up and bowed to Hanna. "My apologies Captain, it won't happen again." He straightened himself up and swam back to his spot without another word.

Hanna swam back up and took her place next to Syaoran. "Does anyone else have something they wish to say?"

All the mermen shook their heads and once again bowed to Hanna, no longer questioning their king's choice in picking her as the new captain. She was certainly strong enough, and knew how to take control of a situation.

Syaoran sighed; wishing things had gone a bit better. At least it wasn't as bad as it could have been. After dismissing them, he left with Sora.

Some of the guards left, and others stuck around striking up various conversations. The merman who spoke to Riku before swam back up to him to continue their conversation. "Wow, who would have thought the Captain was a mermaid? She's sure a lot stronger than any mermaid I know. Seems pretty young too, maybe even your age Riku-Chan." He looked back over to Hanna, who was speaking with some of the senior commanders. "I think I can understand why O-Sama chose her. Even without being a mermaid, that's quite an accomplishment to become Captain at her age."

Riku simply nodded, he had been amazed by her show of strength earlier. She certainly used being a mermaid to her advantage. He just hoped he wouldn't be her next practice dummy.

The merman nudged Riku playfully and winked. "Be careful you don't fall for her now."

Riku just glared at the other merman, he hated how the others thought they could get away with teasing him the way they did. Just because he was younger didn't mean he didn't deserve the same amount of respect as everyone else.

The merman noticed Riku's expression and laughed lightheartedly. "Now what's that look for? You need to lighten up Riku-Chan."

Riku just sighed rolled his eyes and decided to swim out of the room. He had finally had enough of the older merman's teasing for one day.

As Riku swam through the palace, he noticed Seiru floating in a corridor nearby. "Oh, hey Riku-Kun. How was the meeting?"

Riku smiled when he saw the prince. Being around his best friend always improved his mood. "It went better than it could have. The new captain of the guard is a mermaid, but she proved herself worthy of the position."

Seiru was just as surprised as the others at hearing the new captain's gender. "A mermaid? Seriously?"

Riku nodded slowly trying not to laugh at his reaction. After all he was the prince it wouldn't be good to laugh at a prince. "Yes a mermaid, but a very strong and sneaky mermaid. She easily tricked one of the other guards and caused him to go flipping through the water right into a wall."

Surprise again evident in his expression, Seiru imagined the event in his mind. "Ouch. Well, at least she can defend herself."

Riku nodded that fact was very true. This mermaid named Hanna really could defend herself, and defend herself well. "She certainly knows how to manipulate a situation to her advantage."

"Still, I don't think I've ever heard of a mermaid being Captain." Seiru wondered about the mermaid. She had to be good if his father would select her as the new captain. "I think I'd like to meet her."

"If you want to meet her I am sure she is still in the meeting room."

Seiru shrugged. "I'm sure I'll swim into her sooner or later."

"Swim into whom?" Seiru turned around and saw Renae swimming up to him with Karen.

"The new captain of the guard. It just so happens that our captain is a mermaid. A very strong and fast thinking mermaid." Said Riku with a smirk on his face as he remembered that foolish merman getting thrown through the water right into a wall.

"A mermaid, really?" Renae was also surprised by the fact that the new captain was female.

Karen was overjoyed hearing that there was a new mermaid in the palace. This news was fantastic, she couldn't wait to meet this new mermaid and was sure she would be interesting. After all she was the captain of the guards.

Just as Karen was thinking this, Hanna swam past with one of the older commanders. He seemed to be showing her around the palace. As they were passing, the merman she was with bowed to Seiru and Karen. "Prince Seiru, Princess Karen."

Realizing that these were the prince and princess, Hanna also bowed to them.

Karen bowed back to both of them a large grin on her face. "Good day." She then turned her attention fully on Hanna. "It's nice to meet you, you must be the new captain of the guard. I hope you will like it here in Akua."

"I'm sure I will Princess. It's nice to meet you too" Hanna noticed Renae's presence as well. She didn't appear royal, but she didn't look like staff either.

Noticing Hanna's expression, the merman decided to introduce her. "Ah, yes, and this is Renae-Sama. She is a royal guest who came to stay here quite some time ago."

Hanna then bowed to Renae. "It's nice to meet you Renae-Sama."

"Oh you don't have to be so formal; we are the same age after all. You can just call me Renae-Chan." Renae's demeanor confused Hanna. Wasn't she one of the ones she was supposed to protect? That put her near the same level as the royal family; of course she had to be formal.

Karen giggled at Hanna's confused expression. Renae's calm welcoming demeanor usually did confuse visitors to the palace, and many members of the staff were still getting used to it. "Renae-Chan prefers not to be called by any royal titles."

Seiru wondered if the polite mermaid he was speaking to now could really be the same mermaid Riku had told him about. She didn't seem like the type to go around flipping mermen, but maybe she was just on better behavior since they were the prince and princess. "So, where are you going?"

"Ah, yes. I'm showing Captain Hanna around the palace. She wanted to know where everything was so she could navigate easier in case of an emergency."

Karen grinned when she came up with an idea. She just knew that spending time with this new mermaid would be fun and interesting, so she couldn't let the opportunity slip through her fingers. "Do you mind if we came along? I'm sure we could be very helpful. After all we live in the palace."

Karen confused Hanna just as much as Renae. She was the princess, so why would she lower herself to being her tour guide? "Oh, no Princess, I couldn't possibly ask you to-"

"It wouldn't be any trouble, plus it would allow us to get to know you better."

Get to know her better? This princess was an odd one indeed. She spoke as if the two of them were on the same level, rather than a princess to her guard. Even if Hanna was the captain, she still wasn't royalty, or even a royal guest like Renae.

The Commander she was with however, seemed intrigued by the idea. At the very least if the princess became close to the new captain, and took her along whenever she felt the urge to be adventurous, it would save the rest of them a whole lot of trouble when it came time to track her down. "I think it's a wonderful idea as long as you don't mind Princess. Captain, Princess Karen knows more about the palace than most anyone else. She knows were all the hiding spots and secret entrances are. When she doesn't want to be found, she knows exactly where to go to make finding her nearly impossible."

Seiru nodded in agreement. Sometimes even he couldn't find Karen when she hid herself away. "And trust me, she loves to sneak out."

Karen frowned and stuck her tongue out at her older brother. But when she did Seiru bumped Karen's jaw up, making Karen bite her tongue slightly. "OW!" Karen glared at her brother for a moment, took a deep breath, and then turned back to Hanna. "It would be an honor to show you around the palace Hanna-San."

Sometimes Karen really didn't act like a princess, as Seiru figured Hanna would soon realize. "Well don't stick it out then 'Princess'." he muttered under his breath.

Karen could hear Seiru muttering something as she talked to Hanna, so once she was done she once again turned her attention on her brother. "What was it you just said Sei Onii-Chan?"

"Oh nothing." Seiru sighed.

Hanna stared at them in confusion. Even the Prince wasn't quite what she expected. They were quite strange indeed, and it would take some time to get used to.

The Commander didn't seem nearly as surprised as Hanna was. She figured he must be used to it by now. "Well then Captain, I'll be taking my leave now." He bowed to Seiru and Karen once more before swimming away. Hanna wasn't sure if she should call out to him to not leave her alone with the strange bunch, or just stay quiet and go with them. She decided on the latter as she didn't want to offend them.

Karen smiled at Hanna, then nodded to Renae and Seiru, and began to swim at a nice slow pace. "Well then let's begin. Now the palace is rather large so make sure to stay close or you'll end up getting lost."

Seiru looked back at Riku who didn't seem to be following them, and figure he probably had to get back. "I'll catch up with you latter Riku-Kun."

Riku nodded back to Seiru before continuing on his way, and soon he was no longer in site. Time went by and as the tour went on Karen told Hanna about many of the rooms they swam past and certain important events that had occurred within them.

A few hours later, Karen had finished showing Hanna around the palace, so Hanna decided to return to the mess hall. A lot of the guards were there getting food and just talking about various things. Hanna could have sworn she heard a few of them talking about her, but she didn't mind so much. She figured she'd let them talk as much as they wanted for a while as long as they still showed her respect. Even if they didn't have it for her, she would show them just why she was chosen by the King.

"Hey Captain, come sit over here!" Hanna looked around and found it had been one of the older mermen that had called to her. He spoke to her the same way the Princess had, did no one here follow the rules of polite speech? Hanna swam over to him and saw that he was sitting with Riku, whom she had seen with Seiru earlier. "Hey, I know you. You were with the Prince earlier."

Riku simply nodded to confirm that he had been with Seiru earlier when Hanna had met him. "Hello Captain."

The older merman slapped his hand on Riku's shoulder and grinned. "This guy here is Riku-Chan. He's our youngest member, and he's pretty close to Prince Seiru too. Oh yea, and I'm Heiji."

"It's nice to meet you Heiji, and..." Hanna wasn't too sure about how Heiji was refereeing to Riku, but maybe he liked it? "Riku-Chan?" She said hesitantly.

Riku frowned and shook his head. He really hated being called that. "Captain you don't have to call me that, the other guards just do it to try and be funny."

Hanna felt relieved in a way. Of course he wasn't called that by choice, no self-respecting merman would choose to be referred to as female. At least he seemed somewhat normal.

Heiji laughed lightheartedly. "He can be a bit of a stiff at times, and getting him to lighten up can be a pain in the tail, but he's a good kid at heart." Heiji however, Hanna was having a hard time figuring out. "Come on, why don't you sit with us?"

Hanna raised her eyebrow in confusion at Heiji. "Sit with you? That's rather bold of you to just out right request considering the difference in our rank." Still, her curiosity was getting the better of her and she decided to sit down.

Heiji laughed again, apparently not caring much for rank. "Hey, we're all here for the same thing, right? To make sure no harm comes to the Royal Family. To that end, I'd say we're all equals." She had to admit, he had a point. "But man, you sure threw us all for a loop earlier. That was rather impressive the way you handled yourself, seems to be all anyone can talk about. I have a feeling things are gonna be a lot livelier with you around."

Hanna found herself glaring at Heiji. Was he making fun of her? If so, she wouldn't tolerate it. "I may be a mermaid, and a bit younger than most of you, but I won't sit here and be made fun of."

Realizing he'd offended her, Heiji made sure to correct himself. "Oh no, not at all. Some of these older coots need to be put in their place in a while, and many of these youngins still have a lot to learn. What I meant was that you seem like just the mermaid for that, and I can see why O-Sama selected you rather than some stuffy old merman who couldn't lead a Seahorse to seaweed. Captain Bunjiro was a great captain, but I have a feeling you'll be outshining him in no time at all."

Riku nodded to show he agreed with Heiji. Hanna seemed like the perfect mermaid to whip the guards into shape. They really could use some proper training now that there were so many new mermen in the group. "I have to agree I'm sure you'll be an excellent captain Hanna-San, you certainly showed us your skills earlier."

Hanna was somewhat surprised. She had expected that it would take some time for everyone to get used to her, but these two seemed to have accepted her right from the start. Were they really alright with such a young mermaid like herself being their leader? While it was true that Heiji seemed a bit strange, he seemed harmless enough, and Hanna could tell he was an honest guy. But maybe a bit too honest? She hadn't yet formed an opinion on Riku, but to her he seemed like the most normal one in the palace.

Riku had said his bit and that was it for the rest of the time he was in the mess hall he stayed silent and just ate his meal. Not really paying attention to any of the conversations that were going on around him.

After talking Hanna's ear off for a while, Heiji noticed some of the other Mermen leaving. "Oh gosh, is it that time already? I'd better get back, they're gonna be expecting me at the main gate. It was nice talking to you Hanna-Chan."

Heiji got up and left before Hanna could say anything to him. When did she give him permission to call her by name? Heiji really did confuse her. Hanna then realized that he had left her alone with Riku, who hadn't really said much the entire time. Not that she blamed him, Heiji seemed to talk a lot. "That's some friend you've got there."

Riku simply shrugged. Heiji was indeed a very strange, but interesting merman. You were lucky if you could get a word in edge wise with him. If you let him, he could talk for hours straight about everything and nothing.

Hanna wasn't sure what to say next. She wasn't very good in social situations. At least with Heiji, she could just sit there and let him do all the talking. Was it even appropriate for her to be socializing with the other guards in the first place?

Riku finished his food and got up from his seat. "Well captain it was nice meeting you." With that Riku swam out of the mess hall and returned to his usual duties.

Hanna too got up from her seat, and as she began to swim away she noticed Karen floating in the door way. She seemed to have noticed her sitting with Riku and a strange glow found it's way to Karen's face. "Princess? What are you doing here?" Hanna asked as Karen swam up to her.

Karen was grinning ear to ear when she reached Hanna. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Riku alone with Hanna. "So I see you've officially met Riku-Kun."

"Hm? Oh, yes. We didn't talk much; mostly his friend Heiji did all the talking. I heard Riku-San was friends with your brother?"

Karen nodded the smile still on her face. This was perfect, maybe just maybe she could get Riku to open up to Hanna, he needed more friends maybe even a very special friend. "He is indeed; Riku-Kun is my brother's best friend."

"I never expected that kind of relationship to even be possible. Riku-San is one of the palace guards, and you and your brother are the Prince and Princess of the kingdom of Akua."

"If relationships like the one between Riku-Kun and Sei Onii-Chan weren't possible then Akua wouldn't be the harmonious place that it is, and I wouldn't have all the wonderful friends that I do."

Once again, Karen confused Hanna to no end, but she figured she was talking about the same thing Heiji was. Even though there may be a difference in stature, Akua seemed to be a place where just about anyone could be treated as equals. Perhaps this was why Karen was so friendly to her? She must have seen her as just another mermaid, rather than the young captain sworn to protect her.

Karen continue to smile at Hanna, she was already starting to like her very much. "I hope that you and I can become friends too Hanna-San."

"With... me?" Why would Karen want to be friends with her? No matter how she tried, Hanna couldn't seem to figure out the strange princess.

Karen nodded to show Hanna that she meant what she had said. "Yes you. I think you and I could become very good friends."

Hanna continued to stare at Karen. At the very least being close to her would allow her to protect her better. Perhaps that was the reason Riku was allowed to be friends with Seiru? "If that is what you want Princess."

Karen's smile grew even wider and she quickly grabbed Hanna's hands in hers. "This is wonderful; I just know we will get along swimmingly."

Karen's smile was so warm. Hanna hadn't felt anything like it before. It gave her a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time. Hanna was still unsure about her, but there was one thing she did know. He felt an overwhelming desire to protect Karen. Not as the captain of the guard, but as... her friend.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a few days since Karen had talked with Hanna and started their friendship, and today she wanted to really start getting to know the other mermaid. So she quickly tracked her down, finding her in the training room. "Hanna-San, I was just wondering if you might like to join me for a seahorse ride." Karen looked hopefully at Hanna; she really wished that she would say yes. "I was thinking we could go to the market place. It would be good if you knew your way around the area."

Hanna looked back at Karen questioningly. She still wasn't sure about the Princess and why she wanted to be friends with her. Still, she made a good point about her needing to know the area better, and if the princess was going to leave then she may as well escort her. "I suppose I could come with you."

Karen smiled and clapped her hands together in joy. She was so excited to show her new friend around all her favorite areas in Akua. "Great just follow me to the stables." With that Karen swam out of the training room and lead Hanna to the stables where the giant seahorses were kept.

Oh the way, Syaoran noticed the two Mermaids together and decided to see what they were up to. "Karen? Where are you going?"

Karen stopped when she saw Syaoran and gave him a small smile. "Hello father. I was going to take Hanna-San on a seahorse ride through the marketplace. I thought it would be a good idea to familiarize her with the area."

"That was very thoughtful of you Karen." Syaoran smiled at the two of them. Part of him had hoped that they would get along. Syaoran kissed Karen on the forehead and petted her head. "You just be careful on those seahorses, alright Starfish?"

Karen nodded and held back a sigh, she really hated how her father still treated her like a child, but she knew better than to argue. After all he was just looking out for her, and now that she knew why he was so protective she was trying harder to stay safe. "Of course father, we'll be as safe as possible."

Hanna bowed to Syaoran and assured him that she would take care of Karen. "I will take full responsibility for Princess Karen's safety O-Sama. I am also quite skilled with seahorses, so I can assure you her safety."

Syaoran smiled at Hanna. "Yes, I'm sure it will be fine as long as you're with her. Thank you for looking after her Hanna-San." Syaoran then swam off and left the two Mermaids.

Karen smiled at Hanna. "Thank you, with you around father won't worry so much." After saying her thank you Karen continued to the stables with Hanna and once they got there Karen immediately swam over to a young male sea horse. "Hello Kanno, how are you this morning?" The young seahorse let out a pleased noise, and quickly rubbed his snout against Karen's cheek to show her how happy he was to see her. "It's nice to see you too, I would like to introduce you to someone. Hanna-San this is Kanno, Kanno this is Hanna-San."

Once again, Karen continued to confuse Hanna. She had ridden many seahorses in the past, but not once did she ever care to remember their names or to form a bond with it.

Kanno once again rubbed his snout against Karen's cheek and made pleased noises. Karen giggled at the silly young sea horse. He always got excited when he saw her even if he had only seen her just a few hours before. "Yes Kanno, yes I get it you're happy so am I. But you're tickling me, and I certainly can't ride you when you're tickling me." The minute the word ride left her mouth Kanno stopped nuzzling her cheeks but his happy noises increased. "Kanno loves to go riding. It's his favorite part of my visits. Now if you like Hanna-San, you can ride Kanno's older brother. He is in the next stall over."

Hanna swam over to the next stall over and mounted the large sea horse. She didn't bother petting it or talking to it like Karen did, as she couldn't see the point in it.

Karen quickly got Kanno settled down and mounted him. She then looked over to Hanna and smiled. "Okay just follow me, and soon you'll know every corner of the Akua marketplace." Karen then took Kanno's reins and the two were off, flying with an easy grace through the water.

Hanna was rather quiet the whole time, really only speaking up to answer a few of Karen's questions. Part of Karen wished Hanna would talk to her a bit more, maybe even ask her a few things about herself.

Karen was a little worried about how things were going by the time they reached the marketplace, but she put her worries aside and started pointing out shops and areas out to Hanna, telling her all about the shops and their owners.

Despite not really talking much, Hanna still listened to every word Karen spoke. She didn't really have anything to say, so she really didn't see much point in giving response more than simple nods and "I see"'s.

Soon the two young mermaids came to a shop Karen was very familiar with. Seeing the shop brightened Karen's mood and put a smile on her face. She used to come to this shop with her mother quite frequently when she was younger. Her mother would buy storybooks for Karen at this shop and before long Karen had become very friendly with the shop owner and her son.

Hanna took note of how everyone seemed happy to see Karen. It was obvious the all loved her very much. And why shouldn't they? She was their princess after all.

Karen slowly brought Kanno to a stop and dismounted in front of the small book store. She then brought Kanno to an area where she could tie up his reins and make sure he didn't swim off. "Hanna-San would you like to come inside with me? This bookstore is been a favorite shop of mine since I was little. I'm sure you'll like it."

Hanna got off her sea horse and went inside with Karen. Once again, she didn't quite understand why Karen asked her things like that. Of course she would go in with her. She had to be with her in case something went wrong.

Karen slowly began to look around the store. It was just like it had been when she had been here last. Of course the books were different, but the setup of the store was the same. Everything was in the exact place Karen thought it would be. Seeing this brought a smile to her face. She then heard a faint noise and the next thing she knew a mermaid only a few years older than her mother swam into view. "Coral-San!" Karen quickly swam over to the woman and gave her a hug.

Coral returned the hug and smiled down at Karen. "Karen-Chan it is so good to see you again. I was hoping you would visit soon." Karen returned Coral's sweet smile and nodded up at the older mermaid.

"I'm so glad to see you; it has been so long Coral-San." Coral simply nodded and hugged Karen once again, and then she looked up and saw Hanna for the first time. Karen saw Coral's line of sight change and then followed it and saw Hanna. "Oh how rude of me. Coral-San meet Hanna-San, Hanna-San this is Coral-San. I've known her since I was the size of a guppy."

Hanna greeted Coral with a simple "Hello." Just then, Hanna noticed something moving in the shadows and put herself on guard. Was someone trying to attack Karen? Perhaps even try to mernap her and use her as ransom against the King? Hanna certainly wouldn't allow anything like that to happen, especially after she promised him she would protect her. Out of the shadows, a young Merman dashed towards Karen, but was stopped abruptly when Hanna deflected him with her tail. "Who are you?! How dare you attack the Princess!"

Karen and Coral both gasped in shock and swam over to the young merman who was now lying flat on the floor of the shop. Karen helped him up while Coral checked to see if he had any serious injuries. When Coral was sure he was okay and assured Karen he was fine, Karen turned to Hanna with a look of confusion and anger on her face. "Hanna-San, why did you do that? You could have severely hurt Fumio-Kun."

Hanna looked at them in confusion. "You... know this boy?" If this was the case, then she might have just attacked an innocent civilian. But then why was he sneaking around in the shadows?

Karen let out a sigh and nodded. "Yes I know him, Fumio-Kun is Coral-San's son, he helps his mother in the store and I've known him since I was little. He is a very close friend of mine."

Hanna bowed apologetically. "My apologies, I saw you lurking in the shadows and thought maybe you were trying to attack the Princess."

Fumio looked up at Hanna, thinking her to be a strange Mermaid. "Well, yea it's called a sneak attack. I always sneak up on Karen-Chan when she comes in the store, it's how we say hello."

"How you say hello?" What was this? Who says hello by attacking them? Perhaps it really was her who was the strange one.

Karen giggled and gave Fumio a gentle hug. He really was a silly young merman, and his way of greeting her had eventually become predictable. Karen was always expecting it now when she visited the bookstore. "It's nice to see you again too Fumio-Kun."

Hanna didn't say anything more. She just floated there and watched Karen with her friend. Everything about Karen confused her so much, and it felt like the two of them were worlds apart.

Karen talked with Fumio and Coral for a good period of time, laughing smiling, and just enjoying the time she was spending with her friends. It had been so long since she had seen them. But soon it came time for Karen and Hanna to leave and continue their tour of the market place.  
Before they left Coral stopped them and gave Karen a book. "Please stop by again soon Karen-Chan and tell your mother I say hello. I haven't seen her in so long. If you can, bring her along next time." Karen nodded to Coral thanked her for the book and then gave her and Fumio hugs before finally exiting the shop with Hanna.

Still without a word, Hanna mounted her seahorse and waited for Karen. Karen quickly untied Kanno's reins, mounted him and began to show Hanna around the market place. Pointing out smaller shops and stalls this time and guiding Hanna around less well known areas.

Hanna was even quieter this time around than before. She couldn't get what happened with Fumio out of her head. How could she misread the situation like that and attack an innocent civilian? Let alone one of Karen's friends.

Karen noticed Hanna's uneasiness but she didn't know what to do or say to help her new friend feel more at ease. She didn't know what would work to free her of her worries, and that fact troubled Karen. So she did the only thing she could and simply continued to show Hanna around the market place.

About an hour passed and Karen had finished showing Hanna around the marketplace. Hanna remained quiet the whole time, as well as for the ride back to the palace.

As they got nearer to the palace Karen thought she saw something move through a patch of seaweed. But when she looked back there was nothing there so she simply continued to guide Kanno towards the palace gates.

Hanna hadn't even noticed that Karen had seen something, still thinking about Fumio. Then suddenly, a sea snake jumped out and startled the seahorses.

Kanno started to thrash back and forth frightened by the sudden appearance of the sea snake and he released a series of loud frightened noises. But Karen held on tightly to his reins and slowly started to stroke his mane and whisper soothing words into his ear. Slowly Kanno calmed down and Karen was able to right herself in the saddle. But when Karen looked over to see how Hanna was doing, she saw that Kanno's older brother was still thrashing about and Hanna was holding on tightly to the reins trying not to be bucked off.

"Karen!" Seiru, having been talking to Riku near the main gate, saw what was happening and they swam over to help. After confirming that Karen was alright, he proceed to try and calm down the other sea horse.

Try as she might, Hanna couldn't seem to get control of her sea horse. She yelled at it to settle down, but that only seemed to make it worse. Suddenly, the sea horse jerked back with great force and bucked Hanna off sending her flying in the water.

Riku seeing what was about to happen swam at full speed and quickly caught Hanna in his arms before she went flying into a group of rocks. "Captain, it's alright you're safe now."

As Seiru got the sea horse under control, Hanna pushed herself out of Riku's arms. "Let go of me!" She never asked for his help, nor did she need it. She could take care of herself. "Are you alright Princess?"

Karen nodded. She had been a little frightened during the incident, but now that it was over she was fine, and Kanno was fine to. Karen just continued to stroke his mane to make sure he remained calm. "Are you alright Hanna-San?"

"Of course I am. You don't need to concern yourself with me Princess." It was true she had been a little shaken by the incident, but she had more important things to worry about. As long as Karen was safe, that was all that really mattered.

Karen slowly got off Kanno and swam over to Hanna. She checked to make sure Hanna didn't have any injures, and when she was sure she didn't she let out a relived sigh. "Thank goodness you're alright Hanna-San, I was worried about you."

Hanna turned away from Karen. She just didn't understand what went on in her head. "As I said, you don't need to be. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Karen frowned but nodded, not wanting to get into an argument with Hanna, so without another word she swam back over to Kanno, took hold of his reins and began to lead him back to the stables.

Seiru took Kanno's brother, and Hanna swam back to the palace. Karen was back home save, and her brother could see to her from there. She no longer saw any reason to stick around. Hanna swam through the palace headed back towards the training room when one of the guards stopped her. He told her that Syaoran wanted to talk to her right away. Could word of her failure have reached him so soon? Well, even if it had she was ready to face the consequences.

Hanna swam straight to the throne room where Syaoran waited for her. When she arrived, he seemed to be looking over some documents with Sora. Syaoran dismissed Sora for a moment before speaking to Hanna. "Thank you for coming Captain, I wanted to speak with you about Karen."

Hanna had been expecting this conversation, but it somewhat surprised her that he seemed so calm. Hanna bowed to Syaoran apologetically. "My apologies O-Sama, I assure you that it won't happen again."

Now Syaoran was the one who seemed confused. Did he not summon her to scold her? Surely someone had told him of the incident outside the gate. Her question was answered soon after when he asked her what she meant by that.

Hanna was now curious as to why she was there if she wasn't in trouble. Never the less, she wasn't about to lie to him about what happened either. To do so would not only be disrespectful to him, but would go against everything she was taught and believed. She then told him everything that happened, making sure not to leave out anything important.

Syaoran closed his eyes as he listened to Hanna's story, but he didn't seem angry with her. "If that's the case, then it's all the more reason for me to assign you this special mission I have for you."

"Special mission?" Hanna couldn't understand it. Instead of being reprimanded, or even at least scolded for her failure, he was assigning her a new mission.

"Yes. Queen Shinjaku told me when she sent you to me that you might have some difficulty adjusting to how peaceful it is here in Akua. That's why I want you to spend more time with Karen. Not necessarily as her protector, but basically just doing what you were doing today. She seems to have grown quite fond of you. Karen will help you adjust, and in return you can keep an eye out for her. She has a nasty little habit of sneaking out and getting herself into trouble, and it would make me feel alot better knowing you were with her."

Hanna looked at him with confusion. She didn't quite understand what he'd meant by all that but still, orders were orders. "Yes sir. I will do my best, and I won't let you down again."

Hanna swam off after Syaoran had dismissed her. Stay close to the Princess whom had grown fond of her? Did that mean he wanted for them to be friends? She had to admit, there was something about Karen that intrigued her. But still, she couldn't let herself get close to her. There was no way she could let that happen.

As Riku continued to go about doing his duties for the day, he couldn't get the earlier events of the day off his mind. He was still worried about his captain. He never really got the chance to see if she was okay, and as a guard under her command it was right to worry about her. At least, that is what Riku told himself. So he decided to track her down, and when he did find her she was exiting the throne room.

Hanna saw Riku swimming her way. He had been there for her moment of weakness, when she had lost control of the seahorse. He was one of the last people she wanted to see.

Riku swam over to Hanna and bowed slightly. "Captain, I was looking for you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You took quite the fall earlier."

Hanna didn't look at Riku while she spoke. "I'm fine. I don't need your concern, I can take care of myself."

Riku sighed quietly so as to not let Hanna hear. She really was an overly stubborn mermaid. "I know you can take care of yourself captain, but seeing how you are my superior I thought it only right that I make sure you were alright."

"Yea well don't, I never asked for your help." Hanna tried to swim away, but stopped when she felt Riku's hand grab her wrist. "Let go of me."

Riku glared intensely at Hanna, to show her how serious he was being. He had finally had enough of her ice cold attitude and wasn't going to put up with it anymore. "You may not have asked for my help but that doesn't mean I can't give it, nor that I am not allowed to worry about you. You don't get to decide whether people care about you Hanna."

Hanna returned Riku's glare with one of her own. "How dare you call me by my name! You think you know know me?! You don't know anything!"

Riku held back the urge to yell right back at Hanna, after all they were in an open area where any member of palace staff could swim by. Instead he lowered his voice but still spoke in a firm tone. "I don't pretend to know you. But in this situation you are not my captain, and you are not worthy of any formal titles. You were rude and icy towards me, I was just returning the favor."

Hanna continued to glare at Riku. What was with him? She thought she made it clear that she wanted to be left alone, and yet he wouldn't leave her side. She tried to yank her wrist from his hand, but he held his grip firm.

Riku wouldn't release his grip on Hanna's wrist, he wasn't going to let her go so easily. He was going to find out the truth behind why she acted the way she did. He was going to learn why she wouldn't let anyone get close to her. "I don't know why you feel the need to push other merfolk away, but you'll find I am not so easy to get rid of. You are in my life now and I'm in your's. So eventually, I will learn the truth about you."

Hanna looked away from Riku. Someone like him could never understand. "You want to know the truth do you? How could someone like you possibly understand what I've been through. My life isn't all starfish and seahorses you know."

Riku rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. Not only was she stubborn she rather rude when not speaking to royalty. These facts alone irked him. But his interest in knowing about her was still there. "Someone like me? As you've seen I don't have it easy myself. I have no respect from the other guards and because I am the only merman in Akua and the surrounding area with a black tail and fins, many people consider me a freak of nature. So don't you dare think I lead an easy life."

"Oh boo, so your tail looks a little different and you have a feminine nickname! You still have no idea. Your life is a dream compared to mine."

Riku's glare intensified and unknowingly to him so did his grip on Hanna's wrist. "Well you know what makes life easier? Telling people about your problems! Letting people in and allowing others to care can do someone a world of good!"

Hanna looked back at Riku with a look he'd never seen from her before. Her eyes were filled with pain and sadness, so much so that they were almost painful to look at. "Do you really want to know? You really want to know just how good you have it here? How lucky you were to be born in such a peaceful place? I can tell you if that's what you want, but let me give you one warning first. Once you've heard something, you can't un-hear it. You won't be able to turn back because it's already been done."

Riku was shocked by the sudden change in Hanna's demeanor but he wasn't going to turn back now. He had come this far, he was going to hear what Hanna had to say no matter what. "Tell me, I want to know. I want to know everything."


	5. Chapter 5

The Mermaid child sat to the side of the busy street. Merpeople and other fish would swim by and while some might glance curiously at her, they all were far too busy to bother with her. That was perfectly fine with her though, as she was waiting.

She remembered the day they left in the back of her mind. She had been out with her parents that day, the three of them having so much fun. Or at least, she had been having fun. She couldn't quite remember if her parents were or not. Were they? She thought so anyway.

"Hanna dear." Her mother had said to her. "Your father and I are going to be right back. We have a surprise for you. Stay here and we will be back as soon as we can."

Hanna wondered what kind of surprise her parents had for her. It must be something spectacular if it was taking this long. How long had she been waiting? A few days at least. She hadn't moved from that spot since they left her there, not wanting them to come back and wonder where she was.

Hanna's stomach growled at her. She hadn't eaten anything in a while, and it was starting to hurt. She looked forward to returning home with her parents, where her mother would no doubt have such a wonderful feast waiting for her. At least she hopped it would be ready and waiting, she didn't think she would be able to wait while her mother prepared it. Thinking about it only made the pain in her stomach that much worse. She'd better stop.

It really had been a long time though. What could be keeping them? Thoughts that they might not come back snuck into her mind every once in a while, but she quickly shook them off. Her parents loved her, didn't they? Yes, she was sure of it. Any minute now they would come back for her, and she would show them how good she was for staying put and waiting for them.

... Any minute now...

Tears began to well up in Hanna's eyes, once again doubting her parents. "Mother? Where did you go? Did I do something wrong? Father, don't you love me anymore?" Hanna mumbled to herself as her vision began to blur.

She was so hungry, and Nankyoku was rather cold this time of year. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and noticed ice forming on the tips of her fins. No wonder she was so cold. Could it be her parents really weren't coming back for her?

It didn't take long before her vision began to blur once more. Why would they lie to her? Were they really going to leave their only daughter there all alone? To either starve or freeze to death? She was having trouble staying awake now, and wondered if this was really it for her.

As her consciousnesses began to fade, she felt something drape over her shoulders. A blanket? She looked up and could barely make out the silhouette of a Merman sitting in front of her. Could it really be? Did her parents finally come back for her? Hanna clung to the blanket with what little strength she had left. When she moved her lips, her voice was barely audible and had become rough and course. "Father?" Just as she had managed to utter one last word, Hanna felt her consciousness finally give out on her.

When she woke up, she found herself in a room that she had never seen before. It certainly wasn't that street, but it wasn't her home either. Suddenly, Hanna heard a voice that was as unrecognizable as the room. "Good, you're awake."

Unable to find the strength to sit up, Hanna turned her head towards where she heard the voice from. She saw an older Merman who wore armor emblazoned with the crest of Nankyoku. A palace guard? Just where was she anyway?

Before Hanna could ask, the Merman tilted her head up and held a bowl to her mouth. "Here, eat this. It'll help you get your strength back." Hanna had been warned not to take food from strangers, but she was so hungry she decided it better not to turn it down. Especially since it smelled so good. As she pressed her lips to the bowl, the Merman tilted it back slightly and the contents slowly poured into her mouth. It wasn't her mother's cooking, but it could have been made of ice and she wouldn't care. "You poor thing. How cruel the ocean can be to turn away a child so young as you."

Hanna felt fresh tears form in her eyes. How could it be that her parents would just leave her like that? Could this strange Merman whom she didn't even know really care more for her than her own mother and father? Did they not love her after all? "Mother... why did you leave me?" Soon, Hanna couldn't hold back the tears anymore. The Merman held her in his arms as she cried, soon wearing out and falling to sleep once more.

Years passed and Hanna grew up. The Merman who had saved her had been Captain Yoshimura of the Nankyoku Guard serving Queen Shinjaku. He had stayed by her side through the years and trained her to be strong. He taught her a lot and she came to admire him. Though her birth father had abandoned her, she came to see him as her real father.

Hanna trained in the courtyard by herself as Yoshimura watched with another Merman. The Merman watched Hanna in awe as her strength and concentration rivaled that of most Mermen he knew. "Who would have thought that little Mermaid you found would grow up to be this strong? Every time I see her she continues to amaze me."

Yoshimura watched Hanna with sad eyes. "She has grown quite a bit and trained herself to be strong indeed. However, I fear for the strength of her heart. Not once has she shown interest in making friends. Maybe it's the loss of her parents, or it could be this environment was just too harsh for her to grow up in."

The Merman laughed as if finding humor in what Yoshimura was saying. "You speak as if you truly were the girl's father. If you ask me it's a good thing she doesn't get too attached to others. When you become too attached to something, your enemies can use that against you."

Yoshimura eyed the other Merman questionably. "Hanna said something similar just the other day. You haven't been feeding her this nonsense, have you?"

The other Merman shrugged. "She barely talks to anyone as it is. Do you really think words alone would cause such behavior? But I am of the belief that in our line of work, sometimes you have to keep your heart locked away in order to survive."

"Our line of work, huh?" Yoshimura sighed. "I don't know where she got the idea to become a palace guard. I've certainly never heard of a Mermaid interested in such things."

"I should think that would be obvious. You are, after all, the one who raised her Captain. You're the only one she seems to have any sort of attachment to. She looks up to and respects you."

Yoshimura sighed again. He knew Hanna looked to him as a father figure, and at times he truly felt as if she were his real daughter. But that only made it that much harder for him.

As the two Mermen spoke, a Penguin swam up to them with urgency. "Queen Shinjaku wishes for you and your men to report to the throne room at once."

"Looks like it's time to get to work." Yoshimura sighed. He called Hanna over and they went to meet with the Queen.

Hanna wondered what could be happening as they entered the throne room. She saw a bunch of other Mermen lined up according to rank and took her place in the line as well.

Once Yoshimura had made it to the front, Shinjaku addressed them all. "The Ice Crystals tell me that a large group of Octopians is headed for the palace. I am sure I don't have to tell you how dangerous they can be. As my guards, it is your job to protect the kingdom and its people, and I have confidence in each and every one of you."

There was a stir among the guards. Many of them had fought the Octopians before. They quieted at once when Yoshimura started giving them their orders.

After receiving their orders, Hanna and the other guards swam out to meet the Octopian threat. Their numbers were indeed great, but the guards still vastly outnumbered them. Still, Hanna knew not to let her guard down based on numbers alone. It was her first time fighting them, but she had heard stories about them from Yoshimura.

When the battle began, Hanna decided it best to focus on one Octopian at a time. She singled one out and started to fight him. The Octopian however didn't take her too seriously.

"What's this? Is your queen so desperate that she would send a little Mermaid out to fight us?"

Hanna glared at the Octopian. She would make him pay for underestimating her. Hanna charged at the Octopian, catching him off guard with her tail. She slammed him into a nearby rock, shattering the ice encasing it. "What's wrong? Can't handle a 'little Mermaid'?"

The Octopian growled, now taking the fight seriously. He used his tentacle to grab her tail and pull her to the ocean floor. He then grabbed her waist and wrists and slammed her into the rock she slammed him in.

Hanna struggled to break free. "Let go of me!" she demanded. But the Octopian wasn't taking any more chances. He knew now that she was as dangerous as they come, and that he had to end her quickly before she did so to him.

The Octopian raised his weapon in the water and prepared to strike down on her. Just before he did so, he was tackled by a Merman with great force and had to let go of Hanna.

Hanna's eyes widened as she saw the one who saved her was none other than Captain Yoshimura. "Hanna! Get out of here!" she heard him yell. But Hanna wasn't about to just abandon the Merman who had raised and done so much for her. She wouldn't be like her parents. Just before she could go to help him, however, she felt a hard thud on the back of her head and blacked out.

When she came to, she felt the presence of someone floating next to her. She opened her eyes to see one of her fellow guards right next to her. "Good, you're alright." he signed in relief.

Hanna looked around the battlefield. Bodies of Mermen and Octopians alike were scattered everywhere. She could only imagine how horrible the battle must have been. "What happened? Where's Yoshimura?"

The Merman cast his eyes away from Hanna, unable to bring himself to answer her question. Hanna looked out into the distance until she found who she was looking for. Her eyes widened in horror, and she swam full speed to Yoshimura's lifeless body. Hanna felt her entire body trembling. How could this happen? He had always been therefore her. He protected her. He saved her life not once, but twice.

For the first time in years, Hanna felt tears welling up in her eyes. She held Yoshimura in her arms and cried. "**NOOOO!**"She hadn't cried since that day he found her as a child. She thought once that maybe she had forgotten how to cry. But now, crying was the only thing she could do.


	6. Chapter 6

Riku didn't know what to say. After hearing Hanna's story, he finally understood why she wished to keep her distance from other merfolk and why she wouldn't let anyone in. Anytime she did they had left her alone. But Riku still wanted to help her. He wanted to help unfreeze the block of ice that her heart had become. "Thank you captain, I know it must have been difficult for you to tell me all of that. But remember what I said I am in your life now, and nothing will change that. I know you won't ask but I am here if you ever need help."

Hanna looked back at Riku. Remembering what happened threatened to renew the tears from back then, but she knew that was impossible. Nothing would ever make her cry again. Still, Riku continued to confuse her. "You really are a strange Merman, do you know that?"

Riku actually smiled and laughed at that, he knew he wasn't like many other merman but he had never been called strange before. He was usually considered the normal one among the other merman that he was with most of the day. "I have never been called strange before, to be honest it is rather relieving. I grow tired of having to be the 'normal' one."

Hanna didn't answer, but rather stared back out at the water. They had gone somewhere where they wouldn't be overheard, and wound up on the third floor balcony overlooking the kingdom. Back when she was a child, she might have found the view to be quite beautiful. "You know what? I don't think I ever told anyone that story before."

Riku could see why she didn't. Hanna didn't want to be seen as weak by anyone, and telling someone that story would be revealing quite a bit about her past. A past someone could use against her. "I'm glad you told me, and I promise I will never tell anyone your story. I would die first. Only you have the right to let anyone know about your past."

Hanna was about to say more until she noticed a voice outside the door. Wait, was the voice crying? Not only that, she knew this voice. Hanna got up and raced towards the door. Shen she opened it up, she saw Karen floating there in front of her crying. "Princess?"

Karen hadn't meant to eavesdrop on Hanna and Riku's conversation, but she had simply been swimming by and overheard part of Hanna's story. She had meant to keep swimming past. But the story pulled her in and before she knew it she was hiding behind a pillar near the balcony listening intently, and when Hanna finished she just couldn't hold back her tears. "I'm so sorry Hanna-San, I didn't mean to but I heard your story. I'm so sorry for eavesdropping."

Hanna looked at Karen as she cried in confusion. "Princess, why are you crying?"

Karen looked up at Hanna new tears forming at the corners of her eyes. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't will them away. "I'm crying because I listened to your story without permission, and it was such a sad story too."

She still didn't understand. Why did she continue to cry? It was her problem, not Karen's. "Don't cry Princess. I know you didn't mean to listen in and I'm not angry, so you don't need to cry."

Karen once again tried to will away her tears but she just couldn't. She wasn't just crying because she had listened to Hanna's story without permission. She was also crying for Hanna because she knew that she wouldn't cry herself.

Hanna wasn't really sure what to say to get her to stop. She really wasn't good at this sort of thing, and she couldn't understand why Karen kept crying.

Karen looked up at Hanna with tears still in her eyes, but along with the tears was a new found determination. "Hanna-San I know that you won't cry yourself, I know you don't like to be vulnerable so I'm crying for you. I'm crying for you so that you can at least let go of some of the pain you are feeling right now. I'm crying so that you don't have to look weak, I'm crying so you can stay strong. I'll cry for you anytime you feel the need to cry. I'll take on your pain so you can be free of it, even if it is just for a little while."

"Princess, why-" But before Hanna could say anything else, she felt something she hadn't felt in years. There were tears in her eyes now, but how could that be? Was it from talking about her past? No, this was different. It was Karen who had moved her to tears. She didn't understand. As the tears began to protrude down her cheek, Hanna touched them as if to confirm that they were there. "What's... what this? How can I be..."

Both Karen and Riku were shocked to see that Hanna herself was crying, they didn't think that Hanna would ever cry, but here she was with tears slowly falling down her cheeks and merging into the water that swirled around them. Riku was about to say something but before he could Karen quickly pulled Hanna into a hug and told her it was okay and that she was going to be alright.

It was all so strange to her. How could it be that this one Mermaid, so innocent and naive of the world could bring back the tears she thought she had lost forever? No, it wasn't just Karen. Riku had helped too, hadn't he?

Riku smiled slightly at the two mermaids in front of him. It looked like Karen had already worked some of her magic on Hanna. She had helped bring back something Hanna thought she had lost long ago, and Riku just knew that in time Karen would continue to help Hanna. That she would show her the world in a way she never thought possible, and he thought that if he could be there along the way, that would be enough for him**.**


	7. Chapter 7

Renae looked around at Karen's collection of human things. She had heard the Queen's story and knew that they weren't as dangerous as she had originally thought, but they still made her slightly nervous.

Karen swam back and forth around the cove, occasionally stopping to pick up one or two of her treasures, but then she would quickly put them back and continue swimming. "Maybe we can take Hanna back into the marketplace? I mean, without seahorses this time. What do you think Renae-Chan?"

"But what would we do there?"

Karen thought about it for a few moments before suddenly an idea came to her. When it did, a grin spread across her face and she clapped her hands together in joy. "We can go to the salon! My cousin Adella took me to one the last time we visited Atlantica, it was really fun. I think Hanna-San could like it."

Renae smiled at Karen to show that she liked the idea. "We can all get make overs together."

Karen nodded and quickly swam over to Renae to give her a hug to show her friend how much she appreciated her. "This is going to be a great day Renae-Chan we are going to have so much fun!"

Renae giggled and hugged Karen back. "I'm sure Hanna-San will have fun too."

Karen nodded and quickly swam out of the cove with Renae, making sure to hide the entrance with seaweed and rocks before heading back to the palace. Once they arrived back, the two mermaids used a secret passage to sneak back inside and make it seem like they had never left. "Okay Renae-Chan, let's go find Hanna-San and tell her our idea."

Renae nodded. "She should be either in the training room, or in guard's mess hall."

Karen thought about what time of day it was and figured it would make more sense for Hanna to be in the mess hall, so she and Renae swam through the halls that would get them there fastest.

When Karen and Renae got to the mess hall, they saw Hanna sitting with Riku and Heiji. Heiji was going on about something that had happened to him earlier that day, and Hanna and Riku were only half paying attention.

Karen and Renae swam over to the table and greeted the three other merfolk before turning their attention on Hanna. "Hanna-San, Renae-Chan and I were wondering if you'd like to join us on a trip to the marketplace."

Completely unaware of what Karen had planned, Hanna accepted. "Of course Princess."

Heiji smiled at the three Mermaids. "So, you girls got an exciting day planned?"

Hanna scolded Heiji for his lack of mannerisms towards Karen and Renae. "Heiji-San, you should show more respect to the Princess. Riku-San and I are different, she's-"

Karen just giggled and shook her head, sometimes Hanna's formal nature was really quite silly to Karen. "It's alright Hanna-San I don't mind."

Renae smiled brightly as she answered Heiji's question. "We're going to the salon for makeovers."

"Mermaid's day out huh? That sounds nice. You know, that actually reminds me of-"

Before Heiji could go on with another of his stories, Hanna decided to interrupt. "We should get going then Princess."

Karen nodded said a quick goodbye to Riku who nodded in response She decided not to say goodbye to Heiji since was already fins deep in another story, and then swam off with Renae and Hanna.

Hanna decided it was alright to lower her guard somewhat. Akua was a much more peaceful place than Nankyoku, and it's citizens all seemed to be good people. As they swam to the salon, she was able to take in more of the scenery than the last time she had been there. Part of her wished she could have visited Akua as a child. Perhaps she could have appreciated it's beauty back then.

Once they reached the salon, they were ushered in by a pair of young mermaids around the same age as Renae and Hanna. They were quickly sat in very comfortable chairs, and were told that they would have to wait a bit.

Hanna tried to tell the Mermaids that she was only there as an escort, but they didn't listen and insisted she sit down as well. She sat there feeling somewhat awkward. Was it really okay for her to be there too?

They didn't wait very long and soon the two young mermaids were back and leading them to the area where the staff worked. They were once again sat in comfortable chairs and three older mermaids swam over to them and began their work.

Hanna looked over at Karen and Renae while the Mermaid pulled her ponytail out. They looked so comfortable. She watched Karen as her braid was undone and her hair brushed out. She had such a bright smile on her face. She must have been having fun.

Karen closed her eyes in contentment enjoying the gentle feel of the brush moving slowly through her hair. Soon the mermaid doing her hair finished brushing it, and began to carefully and skillfully weave flowers through and into it.

Renae's hair had already been down, so the other mermaid decided to pull her hair back into a ponytail with a pearl ponytail holder. She then moved on to painting Renae's eyes and lips.

Hanna noticed that blue colored pearl beads were being strung into her hair. It seemed like such a strange concept to her. She had always been content with just pulling it in a ponytail. After her hair had been entwined with the pearls, the mermaid went on to paint her eyes and lips. The brush on her eyelids felt so awkward, and Hanna noticed herself flinching and trying to pull away.

Once the mermaid attending to Karen was done weaving flowers through her hair she placed a simple coral headband near her bangs to help keep them out of Karen's eyes. After she did that she moved on to painting Karen's eyelids and lips which she found easy since Karen was staying so still.

The other two mermaids from before swam into the room carrying pearl jewelry and new tops for Karen, Renae and Hanna to wear. After the three of them had changed, the mermaids went on to place a white pearl necklace adorned with a seashell around Karen's neck, purple pearls around Renae's, and a white pearl bracelet was put on Hanna's wrist.

Karen smiled at Renae and Hanna, thoroughly enjoying herself. She swam over to a mirror in the salon and twirled, her hair flowing around her. She was very pleased with her makeover, her favorite part being the flowers woven throughout her hair.

Renae swam over to Karen admiring the flowers as well. "Karen-Chan, you look adorable!"

Karen smiled at Renae and thanked her for the compliment before swimming in a circle around her to admire her new look. "Oh Renae-Chan you look so beautiful and elegant!"

As Renae thanked her for the compliment, Hanna watched the two friends in wonder. The two were laughing and having such a good time together, and she once again wondered if it was alright for her to be intruding on their fun.

Karen then swam over to Hanna and swam around her the same way that she had swam around Renae. "You look very beautiful too Hanna-San, the beads in your hair are wonderful."

Hanna blinked at Karen questioningly and felt her's and Renae's hands pulling her to the mirror. Hanna barely recognized her reflection in the mirror. Karen had said she looked good, but she just thought she looked strange.

Karen was practically beaming as she admired her friend's appearance in the mirror. "You really are a very beautiful mermaid Hanna-San and this makeover just makes that fact even more obvious. Thank you so much for joining Renae-Chan and I."

Joining her? Then, she was supposed to get one of these "makeovers" as well? She thought she had just been there as an escort. Karen continued to surprise her with everything she did.

Karen gave Hanna a quick hug and then went to pay the salon workers. Once she was done she rejoined Hanna and Renae and together they left the salon.

On the way back to the palace, Hanna heard other fish and merfolk whispering. She thought she heard them talking about the three of them, making remarks about how they looked. The words "pretty" and "beautiful" were used a lot. Did she really look good? Hanna had never really thought about that sort of stuff before.

Once they reached the palace they were greeted by Riku. He bowed to Karen and Renae and then proceeded to tell them how beautiful he thought they looked.

Heiji, whom had stopped Riku to tell him another story before the girls came back, also complimented them. He then saw Hanna swimming up behind them bringing up the rear. "And what's this? Wow, that's a good look for you Captain."

Riku was a little stunned when he saw Hanna. He had never noticed how beautiful she was before, but now thanks to the makeover he could truly see that she might just be the most beautiful mermaid he had ever seen. Of course he didn't say this out loud. In fact he didn't say anything.

Hanna noticed Riku staring at her and started to feel awkward again. Did he really have to stare at her like that? She cast her eyes away from him when she spoke. "I know, I look strange."

Riku blushed when he realized Hanna had noticed him staring but when she said that she looked strange he shook his head fiercely. "I actually think you look really nice."

Hanna turned her back to Riku. Somehow, it felt different hearing it from him, even though he said the same thing as everyone else. Maybe not to quite the same degree, "wonderful" and "beautiful" were on a higher scale than simply "nice", but it didn't seem to bother her. Why was it so different?

Riku was confused when Hanna turned away from him, had he said something wrong? All he had said was that she looked nice. Had he offended her somehow? He didn't know, but he was suddenly nervous, and that fact shocked him. He had never ever been nervous around anyone before.

Even turned away, Hanna could still feel Riku looking at her. Why didn't she want him to? It was such a strange feeling. Just what was this? "Well, I should go check on how things are inside." Hanna swam past Riku without another word.

Riku was shocked and confused, but the sudden need to follow after Hanna and figure out what was going on with her swiftly took over. In no time at all he was swimming after her and leaving the others alone at the gates.

Heiji watched Riku go after Hanna and grinned. "Well well, what do we have here?"

Karen looked at Heiji and shared a knowing grin. Her assumption from just a few days ago was right, and she knew it was just a matter of time before those two figured out what was happening themselves.

Heiji chuckled to himself. "I told him not to fall for her. Looks like he didn't listen." He had meant what he said back then as a joke, but it was starting to look like Riku might have taken him seriously after all.

Hanna swam to the spot where she had been with Riku the other day. It was the spot where she told him about her past. Why did she come here? So much had happened to her since coming to Akua. Becoming the Captain of the Akuanian Guards; meeting Riku and Heiji; becoming friends with Karen. Not to mention she had actually cried, which she normally couldn't do even when she felt like it. She remembered something that Queen Shinjaku had said to her before she left. She said that her destiny waited for her in Akua. Could this have been what she meant? Hanna swam over to the balcony and stared out at the kingdom.

Riku caught up with Hanna and was surprised to find her on the balcony from the other day. This spot was where she had told him her past, and then where Karen had helped her to be able to cry once again. "Captain, um... I'm sorry."

Hanna turned around when she heard Riku's voice and looked at him. What was he doing here? And why was he apologizing? "What for?"

Riku rubbed the back of his head in both embarrassment and nervousness. He really didn't know what he was apologizing for, he just thought it was the best thing to do. "Well it's just when I told you that you look nice you turned away from me. If I offended you somehow captain I truly am sorry."

Not sure of what to say, Hanna turned back around and sat on the edge of the balcony. As she leaned forward, her hair began to drape over her shoulders. She really wasn't used to having it down unless she was sleeping. Whenever she had it down, it tended to get in the way when she would train. She thought about getting it cut, but Yoshimura was the one who suggested she keep it long in the first place.

Riku swam over and sat beside Hanna on the edge of the balcony, for a moment they just sat there in silence. But finally Riku plucked up his courage and said something. "I really meant it you know, when I said you looked nice. But I suppose nice isn't the right word. I guess I should have said beautiful or stunning. It's just well I'm not very good with words. Especially not when it comes to telling someone how they look. But really you are very beautiful. But I suppose that even before you tried this new look you were beautiful and I was just too dense to notice."

As Riku spoke, Hanna thought she felt her face getting warm. Was she getting sick? No, she didn't feel sick. Still, she had such a strange feeling and it started to make her feel uncomfortable. "Can we change the subject?"

Riku blushed himself looked away from Hanna slightly and simply nodded. He had no idea where any of that came from, but what surprised him most was how much he had meant what he said. He truly did find Hanna beautiful. Until Hanna had arrived, Riku really never paid much attention to any of the mermaids in Akua, but now he couldn't stop thinking about Hanna and he didn't know why. Everything he was feeling was so strange and new, and he had no idea how to deal with it. "Um... Is there anything you wish to talk about Captain?"

Hanna thought for a moment. The only things she could really think of were things that happened that day. The salon had really been a strange place. "Have you ever been to a place like that Riku-San?"

Riku didn't understand what she meant, but he quickly put two and two together and realized she meant the salon that Karen and Renae had taken her to. "No, salons are mainly for mermaids. They don't offer much for a merman unless he wants his hair trimmed into a certain style."

"Oh, I suppose you're right." Of course he wouldn't. Hanna felt strange just asking him that.

Riku smiled at Hanna, he liked talking to her, he didn't talk to many other merfolk but he just felt at ease with Hanna like she understood him and that made it possible for them to talk about anything. "But if I may say so Captain, you seem to have had fun."

"Do you think so? It was such a strange place. Mermaids you barely know messing with your hair and putting stuff on your face. I never really understood that sort of thing myself."

Riku's smile stayed on his face and he simply nodded. "It may have been strange but I really do get the feeling that you enjoyed yourself."

Just then, Riku thought he saw something he'd never seen before. It looked like Hanna was... smiling? He blinked and stared for a moment, but the smile quickly vanished. Had he imagined it? Perhaps it was just that he wanted to see it so bad.

Even if the smile was just something his mind had conjured up, he still thought that it had been the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He now had a desire to see it again, but for now he decided to move past his thoughts on whether or not the smile had been real and add to the conversation. He at least knew he didn't want it to end. "I can tell you one thing Captain I am sure the other guards would try to take me to the salon, after all they already call me Riku-Chan."

If his eyes were indeed playing tricks on him, then so were his ears because Hanna was now not only smiling, but laughing as well. It was a short and quiet laugh, but there was no mistaking it. And it was from something he had said as well.

Hanna also noticed that she was laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she'd done so. She figured it was back when she was young and was able to believe in her parents' love. It felt so foreign to her, as if someone had replaced her hand with a coral branch. Her thoughts were interrupted when Riku spoke.

Riku was blushing well he spoke, but he knew he had to say this now or he would never say it. "Captain, you have a beautiful smile and a wonderful laugh. I hope I am able to witness them both many times."

The smile on Hanna's face was soon replaced with her usual confused expression. There he went again making her feel things she'd never felt before. Why was it only Riku could make her feel this way? Soon, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Why was it beating so fast? All they had been doing was sitting there, but the way it was now beating was faster than even her hardest workouts.

Hanna quickly decided to change the subject. This feeling was far too much for her, but somehow she didn't want the moment to end. "Hey Riku-Kun, can I ask you a personal question?"

Riku nodded slowly hoping the change of topic would make him feel less embarrassed. He really wasn't use to any of what was going on. His face had never felt so hot, and his heart had never beaten so fast before. "What do you want to ask me Captain?"

Hanna stared out at the water, a look of thoughtfulness on her face. "Why did you decide to become a guard?"

Riku was actually surprised by that question, but while remembering the answer a smile came to his face. "Well I came to Akua when I was very young, and as you know I was seen as a freak because of my tail and fin color so I didn't make any friends. One day as I was swimming, I met a merboy just a bit younger than me. Unlike everyone else He wasn't scared or nervous of me because of my tail and fin color. He actually thought they were amazing because they were so unique. We quickly became friends and spent many hours together. Many times he would come and find me and we would play together for hours till he had to go home. But one day he stayed with me a little too long and guards arrived saying they had been looking for him. It was then I realized my new friend was the prince, at that moment I quickly decided to one day become a guard. That way I could stay close to my best and only friend."

"I see." Hanna continued to stare out at the water. For some reason, she felt like she couldn't look at Riku. "I once asked Yoshimura that same question. He said it was because there was something precious he wanted to protect. I didn't really get what he meant at the time. In fact, I still don't really get it. I can't help but wonder though. I wonder what it's like. To have something precious to you... something so precious, that you would do anything to protect it." Yet another smile came to Hanna's face, but this time one of sadness. "Not that I would ever feel that way. Sometimes it feels like I'm incapable of finding anything like that."

Riku was shocked by Hanna's words, but once remembering all that Hanna had been through in her past he realized that it was very understandable for Hanna to feel that way. Still, he felt that maybe, just maybe Hanna was wrong. After all Akua and Karen had already seemed to be changing her for the better, and maybe someday Hanna would find that precious something she would be willing to do anything for to protect.

Now Hanna was curious about something else, but for some reason she didn't want to ask it. She decided to muster up the courage and just ask him. "Do you have anything like that Riku-San? Something precious you want to protect?" As she asked, she felt herself directing her gaze at him. When their eyes met, she realized he had been looking at her the whole time, and that uncomfortable feeling returned to her. Still, she didn't avert her eyes. She wanted to know.

Riku blushed slightly, and felt the desire to look away growing inside him but he stayed strong and kept eye contact with Hanna. "Yes, yes I do Captain." Slowly Riku started to raise his hand feeling a strange need to touch Hanna's face and brush away a lock of hair that was floating to close to it.

Hanna felt her face growing warm again, and her heart began to race more than ever. Just what was this feeling? She now had a burning desire to know what it meant. Without even realizing it, she could feel herself leaning closer him. She didn't understand it, but part of her didn't want it to stop.

Riku noticed Hanna leaning in closer to him and instead of pulling away he leaned in closer as well. He didn't know why, but he felt a deep need to be close to her. Slowly his eyelids fell shut, and now he could actually feel Hanna's hair tickling his cheeks as it floated freely through the water.

Hanna also found her eyes closing shut. She didn't know what was going on, and part of her didn't really care. As she leaned in, thoughts kept racing through her head, desperately trying to figure out what was going on. It was then that she realized what was happening. She was about to kiss him. Could this really be happening? For so long, she had believed love to be a lie. Just a word, that was it. But now, she finally believed. She believed, and she was scared. Scared that if she shared her heart with him, that he would leave her like everyone else.

They were now so close, but she couldn't let it happen. Hanna pulled away from Riku and turned away. "I'm sorry, I..." But she couldn't say anything else. She couldn't stay there, for if she did she wouldn't be able to turn back. Hanna quickly got up and swam away.

Riku just sat there on the edge of the balcony confused by what had just happened. He had been about to kiss his Captain, but in that moment she hadn't been his Captain. She had been Hanna-San, his friend and someone who had become very precious to him in a very short period of time. But now he was alone and utterly confused by what had just occurred.

Hanna just kept swimming without a real destination in mind. She now knew what these feelings were trying to tell her. But she couldn't let it happen. She couldn't let herself fall in love with Riku. But it was too late, and she knew it.


	8. Chapter 8

Hanna swam through the corridors of the Palace of Akua. It was the dead of night, and most everyone was asleep save a few guards. She swam until she reached the throne room, which was being guarded by two mermen. Not that she would exactly call it guarded, one was asleep and the other was just barely conscious. Under normal circumstances, she would yell at them to be more alert. But not tonight, as this worked to her advantage.

Hanna swam above the semi-conscious merman and easily snuck past him and into the throne room. It was there, sitting right next to the throne that Hanna saw the Scepter of Akua. From what she was told, it was a powerful magical object that belonged to King Syaoran. Normally, only a member of the royal family would be capable of lifting it from the enchanted pedestal, but if Hanna was right then she should be able to lift it.

Hanna swam up to the pedestal and reached out for the scepter. Just as she was about to touch it though, Karen's face became visible in the back of her mind. Why was she thinking of Karen? Never the less, she had a job to do. Hanna reached out for the scepter again, but stopped once again when another face came to mind. Riku, the merman she had accidentally fallen in love with. First Karen, then Riku? Why was she thinking of them? Come to think of it, just what exactly was she doing?

Hanna backed away from the scepter. She couldn't remember why, but a moment ago she felt an overwhelming desire to steal the Scepter of Akua. But why? She was no traitor, and she had no use for the thing anyway. And what made her think she could lift it anyway? It was then that she remembered.

Hanna swam back to the entrance way and yelled at the guards from behind. The two startled wide awake and turned to face her. "WHAT are you doing SLEEPING?! Do you know how easy it was to sneak past you?! You two should be ashamed of yourselves!" The two mermen bowed and apologized to Hanna, and she then swam out and headed for the gate.

As Hanna swam out of the palace and past the marketplace, Hanna finally started to remember what had happened that day, and the Mermaid she had met. What was her name again? That's right, it was Arsulu.

When Hanna was traveling from Nankyoku to Akua, she had swam into a mermaid named Arsulu. Arsulu said that she had been a friend of Yoshimura's whom he had asked to look into her parent's disappearance. She couldn't believe it at the time. In fact, she still couldn't believe it. Why would Yoshimura want to track down her parents? Still, it was something that Yoshimura had requested before he died, so she figured she could at least hear the other mermaid out.

Arsulu gave her a necklace which she said would help her find her parents, but it wasn't until after Hanna had put the necklace on that she heard the full story. In order to get the necklace to lead her to her parents, she would need to bring Arsulu the Scepter of Akua. She told Hanna about the magical properties it held, and the pedestal that protected it from thieves.

Thinking back on it, she couldn't believe she didn't turn away from the mermaid right then and there. There's no way Yoshimura would do something so dishonorable as to seek help from a thief, nor would he want Hanna to sink so low either. But still, Hanna didn't question her except to ask how she could remove the scepter from the pedestal. According to Arsulu, the necklace she gave her would drain the King of his own energy, and that energy would allow her to take the scepter.

How could she even consider such a thing? Not only that, but why had she forgotten about it so soon afterwards, and not remember until just now? Perhaps more of Arsulu's magic? Then what broke it? Karen and Riku's faces appeared in her mind once more. Was that really it? Had something about being around Karen and Riku broken the spell? She didn't quite understand it, but it didn't really matter. She would find the mermaid named Arsulu and turn her into the King. She would not let her get away with using her like that.

Hanna kept swimming until she reached the spot where she had first met Arsulu. She figured she had to be nearby, after all she would be expecting Hanna to bring her the scepter. "Arsulu! I know you're there, so show yourself!"

As if waiting for her cue from Hanna, a mermaid with blond hair and a red tail swam out to meet Hanna. "What's this? You've returned without the scepter?"

Hanna glared at the other mermaid. "You can forget about the Scepter of Akua, it's not yours. I know what you did to me, and I won't let you get away with it. I'm taking you back to Akua to face punishment."

Arsulu eyed Hanna questioningly. "Interesting, how did you manage to break the spell I put on you? No, not broken, rather weakened somehow."

Hanna's suspicions had just been confirmed. "I knew it, so you did cast a spell on me. You won't get away with that either."

Arsulu simply laughed at Hanna. "You foolish mermaid, do you really think it's going to be that easy?" Arsulu waved her hand in the water, and upon doing so caused the water to swirl around Hanna. In nearly an instant, Hanna found her arms and tail being restrained by the swirling water. "You have no idea who you're dealing with, so allow me to enlighten you." All of a sudden, black ink filled the water around Arsulu.

Hanna watched in horror as the beautiful mermaid turned into an overweight Octopian woman. What she didn't realize was that this was none other than Syaoran's older sister, Ursula. "You! You're an Octopian!" She couldn't believe it. The Octopians were the ones who took Captain Yoshimura away from her, and yet she had foolishly struck a deal with one. Hanna cursed herself for being so naive.

Ursula laughed at Hanna. "That's right, and thanks to you Syaoran's scepter will soon be mine."

Hanna struggled against the swirling water, but despite her strength she couldn't break free. "Forget it! I won't let you use me anymore!"

"You won't have a choice." Ursula waved one of her tentacles in a circle and a dark orb appeared. "Now, let's find out what went wrong with that spell shall we? Just what was it that allowed you to break free?" As Ursula's tentacle swirled around the orb, Hanna could clearly make out an image of Riku which had appeared inside of it. "Well now, what's this?" Ursula laughed as she looked at the Riku inside the orb. "How do you like that? The mermaid without a heart has fallen in love, and with one of the guards under her command no less."

Hanna struggled even harder against the swirling water. No, she couldn't let this happen. She wouldn't let Ursula use Riku against her like she did with Yoshimura. This was exactly why did didn't want to get close to anyone again.

Seeing Hanna's reaction only confirmed Ursula's suspicions. "Why you naughty, naughty girl. Haven't you learned by now what happens when you start to care for someone? I guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson then. Serves you right for betraying me like that."

Tears started to form in Hanna's eyes as she struggled to try and free herself. Why did her tears have to return to her now? When did she become so weak and helpless? Would she once again be unable to protect that which she had wanted to protect? She finally understood what it was Yoshimura had tried to tell her. She had finally found her precious thing that she wanted to protect. Why did this have to happen now?

Ursula swam up to Hanna and sneered at her. She waved her tentacle around Hanna's left hand and cast a spell on it. "You're going to deliver this to your precious merman, and when you do his fate will be sealed."

Hanna glared at Ursula with intensity. She had never hated someone so much in her life. "I would never do what you tell me. Do you hear me?! Never!"

Ursula simply grinned as she placed the tip of her tentacle on the jewel on Hanna's necklace. "I think you'll find I can be quite persuasive, especially after I put an even stronger spell on you."

Hanna found herself unable to keep from screaming as Ursula cast a new spell on her. The intensity of the magic was unbearable. It didn't last long however, as soon the intense feeling died out along with the swirling water. Hanna floated there in front of Ursula, not moving at all. Then, she spoke in unison with Ursula. "Never do as I say, huh? Well, we'll just see about that."

Now under her spell again, Ursula then sent Hanna back to the palace. When she returned, she was greeted by the guards stationed at the front gate. Not wanting to give herself away, she went on as normal. "Report. Did anything happen while I was away?"

"No Captain." One of them replied.

Hanna nodded and was about to swim inside when a coy fish swam up to them with a letter. "I have a letter here for the Captain of the Akuanian Guards."

"That's me." Hanna answered. She opened the letter up and her eyes widened as she read what was inside.

"What's wrong Captain?" Unable to hide his curiosity, the guard next to her read the letter over her shoulder. He too stared in disbelief. Hanna instantly darted inside the palace and headed towards the throne room.

Syaoran sat in the throne room looking over a stack of documents with Sora. As they were finishing up, Sora noticed how Syaoran seemed somewhat tired.

Sora had been growing exceedingly worried about Syaoran, as over the past few days he had been showing signs of what could be a very terrible illness. He had been growing weaker and more tired as the days went by and Sora didn't know what to do. She was about to voice her concerns for her kings health, but before she could Hanna came swimming into the room.

"O-Sama, something terrible has happened." Hanna handed Syaoran the letter so that he could see for himself. "Someone has put out a threat against you, and it seems as if they have an accomplice amongst my men."

Sora couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was a traitor in Akua? This couldn't be true, the people of Akua were all trustworthy and very loyal merfolk. But this information was coming from the captain of the guard, so she had no other choice but to believe. After all it wouldn't make sense for Hanna to make up such a story.

As Syaoran finished reading the letter, he handed it to Sora so that she could see for herself what it said. After handing the letter to Sora, Syaoran looked over to the entrance to see Karen swimming in. He had forgotten that he promised to go seahorse riding with her.

Karen was confused to see Hanna in the throne room, but she was even more confused to see that her father wasn't ready to leave. "Father is something going on?" Karen was starting to get worried her father had a very stern and worried look on his face, a look that only meant on thing. "Father did something happen? Is everyone okay?"

Syaoran swam over to Karen and put his hands on her shoulders to try and calm her. "I'm sorry Starfish, but I have to cancel out plans for today. Something urgent has come up. Hanna-San and I are going to take care of it, but I need you to promise me that you won't leave the palace until I tell you it's okay. Can you do that for me?"

Karen nodded slowly. She knew her father wouldn't ask her to stay inside the palace unless whatever was going on was of a very serious matter. "Of course Father, I'll just spend the day with Renae-Chan."

Syaoran nodded in agreement. He was glad that Karen understood the seriousness of the situation. "Go find her and your brother. I want the three of you to stay together." Syaoran then turned to Sora. "Sora-San, I need you to go find Sakura for me."

Sora nodded and quickly left the throne room to begin her search for Sakura. Karen looked between Hanna and Syaoran for a moment before she left as well to track down Renae and Seiru.

After disguising a plan of action with Syaoran, Hanna left the throne room and swam to the mess hall. On the way, she saw Riku up ahead seeming to be looking for something.

Riku was swimming around desperately looking for Hanna, and when he finally saw her at the end of the hallways he swiftly swam over to her. He was little nervous since he hadn't seen her since the almost kiss, but he was still overjoyed to see her and be in her presence. "Captain, I was just looking for you."

Much to his disappointment, she spoke to him in the same cold tone she had when they first met. "Not now. I need everyone in the mess hall right away." Without waiting for him to respond, Hanna continued on her way.

Riku felt both shocked and hurt. He had hoped the near kiss incident wouldn't change anything between them, but it seemed he had hoped for too much. For a moment he just floated where he was letting a sad feeling wash over him, but eventually he remembered he had a duty to do and headed to the mess hall.

As soon as she reached the mess hall, she began to address entire room of Mermen while Riku swam up behind her. "Listen up everyone, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you all." Upon hearing their captain's voice, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over to her. They stared in shock as she told them about the letter. They couldn't believe one of them could be a traitor.

Riku couldn't believe what Hanna was saying, he trusted the other guards with his life, and he knew them all to be extremely loyal to Syaoran. The fact that one of them could be a traitor just didn't make any sense to him.

Hanna announced that they would immediately conduct searches of each Merman's quarters, and that those cleared of suspicion would be allowed to aid in the search. Until then they were to remain in the mess hall until given permission to leave. She then selected two of them to aid her in her search, whom would be switched out once it was their turn, and they went on their way.

Seeing Riku swim into the mess hall, Heiji swam up to him to talk about what just happened. "I don't know about you Riku-Chan, but I'm having a hard time swallowing all that."

Riku just nodded to show that he agreed with Heiji, at this point his thoughts were too confused and all over the place for him to be able to say anything coherent.

Heiji looked at Riku and noticed that he had something else on his mind. "Something tells me you're worried about something other than the traitor. What's up?" Unlike his usual self, Heiji actually seemed serious for a change.

Riku was stunned by Heiji's sudden change in attitude, but he knew that if Heiji was acting so seriously that he could trust the other merman and tell him what was on his mind. "It's the Captain, she treated me so coldly earlier it's like everything that has happened since she came to Akua never happened at all."

Heiji folded his arms and closed his eyes in thought. After nodding to himself, he finally returned to his normal light hearted self and declared "Riku-Chan, you have a lot to learn about Mermaids."

Riku let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes. Just like always Heiji was no help whatsoever, he always turned everything into a joke. Riku decided to ignore the other merman and patiently wait in the mess hall for any news.

Hanna and the two she had selected for the search finished searching yet another room. Finding nothing once again, they then proceeded to the next room. One of the guards decided to lighten the mood as they searched this particular room. "I can pretty much guarantee we won't find anything in this one. This is Riku-Chan's room after all."

Hanna searched behind a desk as she scolded the merman. "Don't just go assuming anything. Everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise." She propped herself up by putting her left hand on the dresser.

"Yea, but this is Riku-Chan we're talking about." He continued as he opened the desk drawer. "I mean after all, he's Prince Seiru's best-" But before he could finish, his eyes widened in shock as he saw what was inside the drawer. Inside were letters discussing a coup against the royal family. "I... don't believe it. Riku-Chan is the traitor?"

Hanna and the other guard quickly swam over to read the letters. Her voice was hard and cold as she spoke. "You know what we have to do. Arrest Riku-San at once!"

Riku had no idea what was going on but before he knew it he was being escorted out of the mess hall and to the place dungeons. This didn't make any sense to him. He would never betray Akua. This was his home, the people he cared about were here. Nothing would make him ever endanger them. "You have the wrong merman! I'm innocent!"

Hanna swam up to him with a look of anger and betrayal on her face. She waved the letters in front of him. "We found these in your room. To think anyone would stoop so low. I can't believe I actually trusted you!"

Riku was even more shocked when Hanna showed him the letters and told him they were found in his room. "I've never seen those before! I'm being framed!"

Hanna's glare intensified even more. "I've had enough of your LIES!" She turned her back to him, unable to look at him anymore. "O-sama will make the final decision, but I'm sure you realize that the penalty for treason is death."

Riku couldn't believe any of what was happening this didn't make any sense. He was innocent, and he had thought that Hanna would believe in him. Yet here she was, turning her back on him. That fact alone broke his heart and shattered his hope.

As tears flowed down Hanna's cheeks, her true feelings screamed inside her head. She wanted so badly to tell him the truth, that she was being controlled and how Syaoran was in danger. She wanted to scream her true feelings to him. To tell him how much she loved him and how sorry she was that he had been dragged into this. No matter how much she tried, her voice was no longer hers, and she would have to watch in horror as she once again lost what was most precious to her.


	9. Chapter 9

Riku sat in the dungeons questioning what could have happened to cause things to go so wrong and put him in the situation he was now in. Just a few days ago he was happy. He had wonderful and loyal friends, and he had realized that he was in love with an amazing mermaid. But now here he was, accused of treason and sentenced to death. He wondered what could have happened to change his life so drastically in such a short time. But he knew deep in his heart that only a miracle could save him from the dark fate that awaited him.

As Riku tried to make sense of his situation, he heard a familiar voice just outside. When he listened closer, he could hear Prince Seiru's voice pleading to the guards to let him in. "I'm telling you, Riku-Kun is innocent! You have to let me talk to him!"

"I'm sorry your highness, but we're under orders not to let anyone in to see him. We're under explicit orders from O-Sama not to let you specifically in."

Riku was relieved to find out that Seiru still believed in him, but he knew that if he continued to insist on visiting him that it would place him in both trouble and danger. He wished he could thank his friend for believing in him, but he knew it was better if Seiru left. After all, no matter what he said Riku's sentence was absolute. Even though he knew he was innocent, there was no way to prove it from inside a dungeon. He was sentenced to death, and that was that.

Renae and Karen swam up behind Seiru. They had both been worried about him, and had figured he would come to try and talk to Riku again. Renae looked at Seiru with concern. "Oh dear, he's at it again."

Karen sighed. She understood why Seiru wanted to prove Riku's innocence, she truly did, but he was swimming himself ragged. If he kept doing this he would surely collapse from exhaustion. Karen didn't know what to do with her older brother, he had never been like this before, and it scared her a little. "Sei Onii-Chan, please you need to rest. Please come with us."

The guard nodded at Karen as if to thank her. "Please listen to your sister. I know it's hard, we all believed in him too. But that merman isn't worth it."

Seiru glared at the guard. There had to be a way to prove Riku was innocent. But he knew Karen was worried about him, so he decided to go with her and Renae. "There has to be something I can do. Father won't even listen to me."

Karen knew all too well how Seiru was feeling. She understood how angry not having your voice and opinion heard could make someone, but Seiru needed rest. He had been awake for days now searching for evidence to prove Riku's innocence, and so far he had found nothing. "Sei Onii-Chan, Renae-Chan and I both believe Riku-Kun is innocent as well, and we'll help you prove it. But please for now just rest, even if just for an hour. You need to sleep before you collapse."

Seiru shook his head. "I'm sorry Karen, I know you're worried but today's the last day. If I don't do something soon it'll be too late. Maybe if I try talking to Father again. He's been acting strange lately though."

"It's true that O-Sama has been under quite a bit of stress lately. Hanna-San hasn't left his side either."

Something in Seiru's mind clicked at what Renae said. "You don't think she's the real traitor, do you?"

Karen was shocked and slightly angered by her brother's words but she quickly calmed herself down, she knew he was just trying to think of every possibility. "Sei Onii-Chan you don't really think Hanna-San could be the traitor do you?"

As Seiru thought about it, it kept making more and more sense. "Just think about it. She was the one who lead the searches of everyone's rooms. Not only that, but Renae-Chan's right. She hasn't left Father's side since they arrested Riku-Kun. What if she's-"

Karen was getting more and more angry with every word that left her brother's mouth till finally she had enough and snapped. "Hanna-San would NEVER betray us, and she would never be so cruel to Riku-Kun! She LOVES HIM!"

Renae swam in between the two, unable to bear to see them fighting. "Please, calm down you two. Fighting amongst ourselves won't help anyone."

Karen knew Renae was right, but it still upset her greatly that her own brother thought that Hanna was the real traitor. It didn't make sense, Hanna was so trustworthy and loyal. The idea of her being a traitor just seemed insane to Karen.

But Seiru couldn't shake his suspicions. The more he thought about it, the more he doubted Hanna. He didn't say anything more to Karen though, as he knew she thought of the Captain as a good friend. So instead he just swam off on his own. If Hanna really was the real traitor, he couldn't leave her alone with Syaoran. She was in the perfect position to attack at any time, and Seiru wouldn't let her hurt his father.

Karen was confused when Seiru just suddenly swam off on his own without a word. He had never done that before. But she didn't dwell on the thought for long, and quickly grabbed Renae's hand and swam off after Seiru with her.

Seiru swam strait for the throne room. As he suspected, Hanna was still by Syaoran's side. "Father, I need to talk to you."

Syaoran just looked at Seiru. He wished Seiru would just let the thing with Riku go. He didn't have the energy to deal with him right now. "Seiru, this better not be about that Riku again."

Seiru couldn't believe the way his father had been acting lately. He was usually more reasonable than this. "Please Father, if you'd just listen to me."

Hanna swam over to Seiru as if to block his view of Syaoran. "Please Prince. Your father has enough to deal with right now. Riku-San was never your friend. He was just using you to-"

"That's a lie!" Seiru glared at Hanna. If she had truly loved Riku the way Karen said she did, she wouldn't be so quick to lose faith in him. "How can you be so sure he isn't being framed by the true traitor."

Syaoran had enough of Seiru's stubbornness. "That's enough Seiru! I don't want to hear another word on the subject."

Seiru squeezed his fist tight. He just didn't understand why his father wouldn't at least hear him out. He then wondered if this was how Karen felt whenever she tried to talk to him about humans. Still, he thought his father was acting very different from normal.

Karen swam into the throne room with Renae shortly after Seiru's argument with their father. She had heard the end of it and was very shocked. Syaoran had never raised his voice at Seiru before. Something wasn't right here. Karen slowly took a long look at her father and noticed how weak, and pale he appeared. She had never seen her father in such a state before and it worried her. She knew something was going on and she was going to find out. But first she needed to get Seiru out of the throne room, and tell him that together they should form a plan to discover the truth behind what was really going on. "I'm so sorry father, I'm sure Seiru Onii-Chan didn't mean to anger you, he is just tired. I'll take him to his room so he can rest."

She and Renae then lead Seiru out of the throne room. Renae looked at Seiru with concern as they swam. She had never seen him like this before, and it worried her to no end.

Once Karen felt they were far enough away from the throne room that they wouldn't be overheard, she decided to tell Seiru what she had decided to do. "Sei Onii-Chan, I don't know if you noticed but father was looking very weak and ill. Something is going on with him, something very strange. We need to figure out what it is. I have a feeling it might having something to do with the traitor that is among us, and if we can figure out what is going on we might just be able to free Riku-Kun."

Now that he thought about it, Karen was right. Syaoran had looked almost completely drained of energy, and Seiru felt ashamed of himself for not noticing. He had been too focused on Riku. They had to do something before it was too late.

"We better start our investigation right away, like you said earlier we don't have a lot of time. We have to find something today or Riku-Kun will be killed tonight."

"Alright, I think we should split up. We can cover more water if we do. Karen and Renae-Chan, you two go ask around and see what you can find out. I'm going to go talk to Heiji-San and see if he knows anything. He's the only one besides us who still seems to believe in Riku-Kun."

Karen nodded and together with Renae swam off in the direction of the mess hall. She had a feeling that was where most of the guards would be at the moment. When the two mermaids reached the mess hall, they began to ask all the guards there if they had seen anything strange or odd lately.

As Seiru swam to the main gate, he thought he'd heard Hanna's voice in another room. Strange, shouldn't she have been with Syaoran? Seiru decided to swim over to investigate.

As Seiru listened, he noticed Hanna seemed to be talking to herself. "Today's the day I finally get that merman out of my hair. And soon Syaoran will be too weak to defend the Scepter of Akua. Once I have that, I can move on to another kingdom. Perhaps I'll go after the Trident in Atlantica next."

Seiru couldn't believe it. Part of him had wanted Karen to be right about her, but now he knew that Hanna had been plotting against them the whole time. He wouldn't let her get away with it. He boldly swam in to confront Hanna. "There's no way I'm letting you steal my father's scepter!"

Hanna turned around when she heard Seiru yell at her. She would have cursed herself for saying all that out loud, but she could see that Seiru was on his last fins himself. "And what exactly do you think you can do in that pitiful state? You can barely keep yourself afloat." Hanna swam over to Seiru and hit him over the head with her tail. Seiru tried to avoid her tail, but he was too tired and his reflexes had slowed. He now felt his consciousness give out on him, as Hanna closed the door to the room and left him there.

Karen and Renae had little luck with the guards in the mess hall so, they tried the training room after that. Sadly they had the same luck there as well, so they decided to find Seiru and see what he had learned from Heiji. But when they found Heiji, he told them Seiru had never come to talk to him. The girls were shocked by this and decided to search the rest of the palace for Seiru. When they did find him, they were shocked to find him unconscious in a random room.

Renae gasped when she saw Seiru unconscious. "Prince Seiru!" She swam over to him with Karen to see if he was okay.

Karen noticed there was a bump forming on the back of Seiru's head, which implied that someone had knocked Seiru unconscious. Karen quickly realized that this could only mean that Seiru had caught up with the traitor, and whoever they were did this so Seiru wouldn't be able to tell anyone.

With help from Heiji, the two mermaids were able to wake Seiru and ask him what had happened to him.

Still groggy and weak from lack of sleep, Seiru struggled to sit up. "Hanna-San... It's Hanna-San, she's trying to steal the Scepter of Akua."

Karen couldn't believe what Seiru was saying, but she knew that her brother would never lie about something so serious, so she knew she had to trust him. Even if it meant having to admit that someone she considered a close friend was a traitor. "We have to find some form of proof. We'll have to investigate her room."

Now that he was fully awake, Seiru realized that some time must have passed since Hanna had knocked him out and started to panic. "What time is it?! We have to stop her from killing Riku!"

Heiji quickly told them to leave it to him and he raced out of the room. He knew that by now, they would have already taken Riku to where he would be killed. He had to tell them about their Captain's betrayal. He still couldn't believe what had happened, but he knew Seiru wouldn't lie about something like this. He swam as fast as he could, praying he wasn't too late.

Karen watched as Heiji hurried off and then turned back to Seiru. With help from Renae, she was able to get him up off the sea floor. "While Heiji-San tries to stop the execution, we have to get to Hanna-San's room so we can find proof that she is the traitor. Otherwise everyone will think we are just making up a story to try and save Riku-Kun."

Seiru nodded. "You're right, there has to be something. Let's get going."

As the three swam off to Hanna's room Riku was lead to where Hanna was waiting. He couldn't even look at her. He was so heartbroken, he had thought they had something special. He thought that she would have been one of the people who believed he was innocent, but here she was about to become his executioner. All he could see in her eyes was a fierce coldness, as if the mermaid he had gotten to know was no longer there. As if she had been replaced by an empty, unfeeling shell.

The guards lead Riku strait over to Hanna and forced him down to the sea floor in front of her. Hanna then raised a sword in the water above Riku's head. She screamed inside her mind. She was about to take the very life that she wished to protect with her own hands. She screamed and screamed, but no one could hear her. She continued to scream that it was her, not Riku who had betrayed them. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked down at Riku. How could she do this to him? How she wished she could regain control of herself, and then suddenly her screams were heard. "IT'S ME!"

The other two guards floated there in shock wondering what she could be talking about. "Riku-San's innocent! I'm the one!" Hanna dropped the sword as her whole body began to shake. "I'm the traitor."

Finally, one of the guards spoke up. "Captain, what are you talking about? If this is a joke, it isn't funny." As they were floating there doubting their captain, Heiji swam up at top speed and told them what had happened to Seiru.

Shortly after Heiji told everyone what happened to Seiru Karen, Renae, and Seiru arrived with letters. The same letters that had been used to frame Riku, they explained that they had found these letters in Hanna's room, and that the ones that were found in Riku's room must have been copies.

Now convinced, the guards arrested Hanna. She didn't put up a fight. She had done something horrible, and knew that she would have to face the consequences. Still, the tears continued to flow from her eyes. As the guards took her away, she only wished Riku could find it in his heart to forgive her.

Seiru and Heiji unbound Riku's hands and helped him up. "Riku-Kun, are you alright?"

Riku was shocked by the sudden turn of events, but he nodded to assure his friend that he was fine. At least, he was physically fine. His mind was a mess. His captain, his Hanna, his love was the traitor. He couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true, there just had to be something else going on. He knew Hanna, he knew she would never betray anyone. Not after what had happened to her as a child. This just didn't make sense. "Prince Seiru, there is something else going on here. I just know it. Hanna would never betray anyone."

Seiru had a hard time looking Riku in the eye. "I'm sorry Riku, I heard her with my own ears. She was planning to steal Father's scepter after she killed you."

Riku just couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true, Hanna couldn't be the traitor. It just didn't make sense to him. The Hanna he knew was so loyal and honorable. The fact that she would plan to betray Akua just didn't fit with everything else he knew about her. Unless it had all been an act. Had the story she told him been a lie? He just didn't know what to believe anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

Hanna sat there in the cell all alone. Somehow, she had fallen under Ursula's spell once more, and was forced to do such horrible things. She had been draining King Syaoran of his energy whenever she was around him, and she had framed Riku and made him out to be a traitor. Worse than that, she tried to kill him. She wasn't sure how she broke the spell that was controlling her, but it was too late. She couldn't change the fact that she had done such horrible things. Even worse, whenever she tried to tell someone that she had been controlled by the Octopian's spell, something kept her from speaking. She suspected it was probably the necklace, but she couldn't take it off. More of Urusla's magic no doubt. At least she was now contained where she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone.

As Hanna sat in her cell thinking to herself, Riku entered the dungeons. He was both confused and furious, and he needed to know the truth. He needed to know if Hanna had been lying to him the whole time. So he swam over to her cell and made his presence known.

Hanna couldn't believe her eyes. He actually came. She thought for sure he wouldn't want anything more to do with her. She knew he wasn't there because he wanted to be with her, but it was enough to see him one more time. Hanna swam to meet Riku at the other end of the cell. She couldn't leave to go to him, but it was as close as she could get. She suddenly felt tears forming in her eyes. "Riku-San..."

Riku couldn't look directly at her. She had broken his heart, and just being there in the same room with her was painful, but he had to know the truth. He had to know if anything that had happened between them was real. "Just tell me one thing, did I ever actually mean anything to you? Or was I just a pawn in your plot against Akua?"

Hanna continued to cry before the Merman she loved so much. She knew he would no doubt feel this way, but it still broke her heart to hear him talk like that. "Of course not. Please, you have to understand, I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted for any of this to happen."

Riku glared at Hanna, he never seemed to understand her, she seemed to have so many different sides to her and he never knew which side he would get. "How can I believe you? How can I trust you?"

She wanted to tell him so much. Tell him that it hadn't really been her, about the Octopian that had been controlling her, but the spell she was under wouldn't let her tell him. "Riku-San I... I'm so sorry. I know it seems strange, but I just can't tell you." Hanna reached her hand out to touch Riku's face. "Riku-San, I am so sorry."

Riku pulled away from the touch, he couldn't take any of this anymore. She had broken his heart, but yet he still loved her. It was so strange to him. But he knew that he couldn't stay there any longer and so he turned away from Hanna and swam out of the dungeons without another word. He didn't even stop to look back at her. He just kept swimming, his thoughts now more confused than ever.

Hanna sank down to the ocean floor, her tears refusing to stop. "Riku-San... I love you." It was too late for her to tell him. He was gone, and she knew he wouldn't come back. She never got the chance to tell him how she felt.

As Hanna sat there and cried, two other guards swam in and opened the cell door. "It's time to go 'Captain'." They bound her arms behind her back and lifted her up into the water. Hanna figured she was on her way to be executed, but was shocked to hear where they were really taking her. "O-Sama wants to have a word with you."

She couldn't let them take her to him. She had already drained him of so much of his energy, she couldn't let them take her to get the rest. "O-Sama?! No, you can't! You have to listen to me, you can't let me near him!" But they didn't listen to her. She tried to tell them why, but the spell once again stopped her. Why did this have to happen? Hanna tried to get away, but the guards hold on her was too strong. She'd never felt so weak and helpless in her life.

Syaoran sat in the throne room, waiting for his guards to bring their former captain to him. He couldn't remember ever feeling the way he did now, and felt like he could pass out at any moment, but he had to deal with Hanna. He had to make sure she had worked alone, and that the danger would soon be over. He tried to brush off this feeling, but Karen kept bringing it up.

Karen floated close by to her father trying to get him to stop what he was about to do. Yes, she had help find proof of Hanna's guilt, but she still felt like there was more going on. That Hanna wasn't truly the guilty party. "Please father, just listen to me. You can't do this you are tired, you look ill you need to rest. And in my heart I just know Hanna-San isn't guilty. I'm sure someone else is behind all of this. It is the only logical reason. Someone must be using Hanna-San."

Syaoran tried to brush Karen off, but she wouldn't listen. "That's enough Karen. She's already admitted to her crimes. She's been plotting against us this whole time, she used and tricked you, and she tried to blame Riku-San for it all. I won't just sit here and do nothing."

But Karen wouldn't give up. She was just as stubborn as her father was, and this time she was going to make him listen to her no matter what. "But father who's to say someone didn't force Hanna-San to confess? What if this whole time someone has been using Hanna-San?"

"I thought I told you to drop it Karen." He couldn't understand why his daughter was so insistent that Hanna was innocent. "Now, I want you to leave. She'll be here soon, and I don't want you to be put in danger should anything go wrong."

Karen sighed, her father was acting more stubborn than usual. It was as if no one's voice could reach him anymore. But Karen decided to give her father some peace; after all he did seem to be ill. So she left the throne room, but she didn't go very far. Instead, she hid behind a pillar so no one would know she was there. This way she could listen to the goings on in the throne room and find a way to prove Hanna's innocence.

As Karen hid, she saw the guards swimming towards the throne room with Hanna. Karen couldn't make much sense out of the things Hanna was telling them, but she figured it had to be an important clue.

The guards brought Hanna into the throne room before Syaoran. Hanna could see how weak she had made him, which only made her struggle more. The guards made sure to keep a good grip on her arms as Syaoran spoke. "Hanna-San, I want to know just what this was all about. Shinjaku had such good things to say about you, and Karen believed in you too. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Hanna knew she couldn't spend what little time she had defending herself. She was dead no matter what happened, but she wanted to at least save Syaoran. "Please O-Sama, you have to get away from me. You're in danger, she-" As Hanna was about to say more, the spell on her stopped her in her tracks. However, she was at least able to give them an important clue first.

"She?" Syaoran repeated. "She who? It's time you started telling the truth." Syaoran got up and started to swim over to Hanna.

Hanna panicked as she saw Syaoran swimming closer. The closer she was to him, the more she drained him. "Please O-Sama, you have to stay back! It's too dangerous for you to be near me!" Hanna tried to stop him, but it was too late. Unable to keep himself afloat anymore, Syaoran soon fell to the ocean floor. "O-SAMA!"

Karen heard Hanna's scream and quickly came bursting through the doors to the throne room, she saw her father lying unconscious on the sea floor and quickly swam over to him. "Father! Father please wake up. Father!" Karen quickly turned to one of the guards and ordered him to go find the palace doctor. She then turned her attention on Hanna. "Hanna-San what is going on here?"

Hanna couldn't understand what Karen was doing there, but she couldn't let her get involved. "Princess, you have to get out of here! I-" Before she could finish, the jewel on her necklace began to glow. A strong wave of energy began emitting from Hanna, sending the two guards restraining her flying into the wall and rendering them unconscious.

Karen felt her father's strong arm pull her down and protect her. He had managed to wake up just in time to keep her from being repelled by the strong current. She couldn't believe her ears when she heard Hanna speak with a voice that wasn't hers. "Syaoran you fool, you swam right into my trap."

Syaoran knew this voice. He knew it all too well. "You... it was you this whole time."

Ursula continued to speak through Hanna, letting out a cynical laugh. "Too little too late. How does it feel to be so weak Syaoran? This child has been draining you this entire time. How I wish I could be there in person, but I'm afraid I have more important matters to attend to."

Karen clung tightly to her father, confused and scared by what was going on. She had no idea who the voice that was now coming through Hanna belonged to, but the fact that Hanna wasn't in control of herself terrified Karen and made her worry for her friend.

Syaoran tried to pull himself up, but he soon fell back to the sea floor. He could feel himself getting weaker, and knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake for long. "Karen... you have to get out of here. I can't get up right now, but you have to go."

Karen shook her head. She may have been scared but she wasn't going to leave her father, not when he was in such a weak state. She was going to be there for him, and this time she was going to be the one doing the protecting.

Syaoran tried to urge Karen to leave once more, but he had become too weak and finally passed out.

Karen shielded her father, hoping her own small body would be able to keep him safe from whoever it was that was using Hanna to attack him and Akua. "Hanna-San! Hanna-San please if you can hear me fight back! Free yourself Hanna-San, please be strong!"

"Father!" Having heard the commotion, Seiru swam in with Riku following closely behind. Seiru was shocked to see Syaoran unconscious on the sea floor and swam up to him and Karen.

Karen was shocked but very grateful for her brother and Riku's sudden appearance. With their help, she just knew she could free Hanna from whoever's control she was under. "Sei Onii-Chan, Riku-Kun someone is controlling Hanna-San! Whoever it is has been behind everything they're tring to use Hanna-San to get the scepter."

"What?!" Seiru looked over to where Hanna was and saw her swimming over to the where the scepter stood. He then darted towards her to try and stop her. "Get away from there!"

Hearing Seiru yell at her, Hanna then whipped her tail around and smacked Seiru back to the sea floor. He still hadn't fully recovered from the lack of sleep, which made fighting him much easier. "Foolish Prince, what good do you think you can do?"

As Karen swam to check on her brother and make sure he wasn't hurt, Riku swam after Hanna and got between her and the scepter. "I don't know who you are, but you will not get the scepter, nor will you get away with using Hanna!"

Ursula couldn't help but laugh at Riku. "As if you could do better. You really think you can save your precious mermaid? Well think again." Hanna lunged at Riku, hitting him hard in the stomach.

Riku clutched his stomach, and hunched over in pain. But he held his position. "I won't let you steal the scepter... and I will free Hanna!"

As Ursula forced her to fight Riku, Hanna cried out to him inside the back of her mind. "Riku-San! Please, you have to stop her! I don't want to hurt you!" She knew Riku couldn't hear her, but it was all she could do as she continued to fight him.

Riku continue to fight back against Hanna, keeping her and her controller away from the scepter. "I won't let you win! Hanna if you can hear me please fight back! I know you can free yourself!"

"Give it up you fool!" Hanna whipped her tail around and hit Riku hard in the side. She continued to cry out to him, but no matter how hard she cried he couldn't hear her.

Riku ignored the intense pain he was feeling and continue to fight against Hanna, while also calling out to her. "Hanna please you are stronger than her! I know you are! You can free yourself! Please Hanna... come back to me."

Seiru watched in horror as his best friend was beaten up. He wanted to help, but every time he tried Karen would stop him and urge him to rest. How could he though, with his friend in trouble like this?

Karen held Seiru back, knowing that in his current state he would be of very little help to Riku. He was too weak from exhaustion, and he had already sustained two severe injuries. Yet as she held Seiru making sure he wouldn't try to 'help' Riku, she herself had to will herself not to swim into the battle.

As Hanna pulled back once more to hit Riku, he grabbed her wrist and held on tight. "Let go!" Ursula's voice demanded. But Riku wouldn't let go, just as he wouldn't let go that other time either. She tried to hit him with her free hand, but he grabbed that one as well.

Riku held tightly to Hanna's wrists and kept eye contact with her. Hoping he would find a trace of his Hanna inside those cold, fierce eyes. "Hanna I know you are still in there. I know my Hanna is still there, so please I beg you to come back to me."

As Ursula forced her tail to hit Riku's, Hanna desperately tried to let Riku hear her voice. She wanted so much to return to him. To tell him how much she loved him.

Riku endured the harsh pain being inflicted upon him and never let his grip on Hanna's wrists weaken. "Please Hanna, return to me. Please I love you, so please come back to me."

"Just give it up already!"

"I will never give up on Hanna!" Riku tightened his grip on Hanna's wrists and suddenly pulled her close to him. "I love her and will never abandon her." As Riku said these words he leaned in towards Hanna. When he was done making his promise, he gently placed his lips against Hanna's in a chaste kiss. The gentleness only lasted a few moments before he added more pressure to it, and turned it into a kiss he hoped would convey all his feelings to the mermaid he loved.

Ursula tried to yell at him, but this time it was her voice that was silenced and Hanna suddenly stopped struggling. Just as she felt Riku's lips part from hers, she leaned forward to return the kiss. Tears poured out of her eyes as she regained momentary control of herself.

Riku grinned into the second kiss and slowly wrapped his arms securely around Hanna's waist. When the two finally parted, Riku's smile stayed on his face. He was overjoyed to have his Hanna back. "I knew you weren't gone, I knew you would return to me."

Hanna looked up at Riku and into his eyes. "Riku-San, I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you so much. I love you Riku-San. I love you with all my heart. You're my important thing I want to protect."

Riku held tightly to Hanna, he was so overjoyed to have Hanna back. He had been so worried for her, but here she was back to her normal self. His Hanna was back and nothing could have made him happier. "I love you too Hanna, I love you so much."

Angered that Hanna had once again broken her spell, Ursula unleashed another wave of magic and the jewel on Hanna's necklace began to glow once more. Once again, Hanna's own voice was silenced and all Riku could hear was Ursula's cold, shrill voice. "You won't beat me that easily."

Riku had been pushed back by the strong magic and hadn't noticed the jewel on Hanna's necklace glow, but both Karen and Seiru had. Together they realized that the jewel was what was giving whoever was controlling Hanna the power to bend her to their will. Seiru then called out to his friend. "Riku-Kun that jewel! I think that's how she's being controlled!"

Riku nodded when he heard Seiru, and quickly balled his hands into fists. He then swam back slightly to pick up speed and sent himself shooting towards Hanna, his fists at the ready. When he reached her he quickly punched the jewel with all his strength and caused it to shatter.

As the jewel shattered, Hanna sank down to the sea floor. Just before she hit the bottom, she felt Riku's strong arms wrap around her. She looked up to him and smiled. "You did it Riku-San. She's really gone this time." She felt weak, but she didn't care. The horrible presence that had been controlling her for the past several days was finally gone, and she could now be with her Riku.

Riku smiled down at Hanna, glad to finally have her back for good. His Hanna was finally here to stay. His heart had never felt lighter, and he had never felt happier. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before turning to Seiru, asking him if he could take Hanna to her room so she could rest properly.

Seiru smiled at his friend and nodded. "Take care of her Riku-Kun. We'll see to our father."

Hanna had almost forgotten about Syaoran. With the necklace's power gone, she figured he would go back to normal, but she still worried. "When he wakes up, please tell him I'm sorry."

Karen promised her that she would, and with those last words Riku swam out of the throne cradling Hanna in his arms. Karen and Seiru rushed over to Syaoran to see if he was okay. When they reached him, Karen noticed his skin did not seem to be as pale, and that the tired and exhausted expression he had on his face constantly as of late was gone.

Seiru sighed in relief. "Good, he's already looking better. I think he's going to be alright."

Karen smiled in relief and nodded, agreeing with her brother on the condition of their father. "We should probably take him to his and mother's room so he can rest properly. We can have the doctor do a proper examination."

Seiru nodded and slung his father's arm over his shoulder. When Karen took his other arm, the two of them swam out of the throne room.

Together the two brought Syaoran to his and Sakura's bedroom and carefully laid him on the bed. Karen doubled check to make sure he was comfortable, and when she was sure he was she left with Seiru so that their father could get a few hours of peaceful rest.

Hanna rested her head against Riku's strong chest as he carried her. How gentle and comforting his heart beat was to her. He was so warm too, and she wished they could stay like that forever.

Riku held Hanna gently in his arms, being very careful with her as he swam to her room. When he reached her room, he placed her gently on her bed and kissed her on the forehead once more. "I'm so glad you're back Hanna. Now rest, I'll be right here when you wake up."

Hanna was tired, but she didn't want to go to sleep. She didn't want this moment to end. Being there with Riku felt like a dream she didn't want to wake up from. Part of her feared that if she fell asleep, she would wake from the dream and find herself back in the cold kingdom of Nankyoku. She grabbed Riku's hand to ensure that this wasn't a dream, and to reassure herself that he wouldn't leave her.

Riku squeezed Hanna's hand gently to assure her that he wasn't going anywhere, and then he leaned down and placed a soft kiss to her cheek. "Just rest, we have all the time in the world to be together now so rest. You have been through so much, you need your sleep."

Hanna looked into Riku's eyes. She had never noticed before what a wonderful shade of blue they were. It had quickly become her favorite color. "Riku-San, may I ask you something?"

Riku nodded with a gentle smile on his face as he saw Hanna slipping into a state of content. She deserved to be happy after all that had happened to her in her life. "You may ask me anything."

Hanna reflected Riku's smile with one of her own. His smile was so warm that she could stare at it forever. "Would it be alright if I called you by your name?"

Riku's smiled grew even wider and he was even more happy then before if that was even possible. "Of course you can. I would be very happy if you would."

Hanna reached up and caressed Riku's cheek. She was so happy, and she hopped the moment would last forever. "Riku, I love you." She saw Riku leaning down towards her, and they kissed. She felt so happy right then as she drifted off into peaceful slumber.

Riku kissed Hanna's forehead one more time and squeezed her hand as she slept, hoping that she could feel his presence even as she dreamed. "Sleep well Hanna, I'll be here when you wake."


	11. Chapter 11

8:12am

It had been a few days since everything had happened with Hanna and whoever had been controlling her. Peace had finally returned to Akua, and Syaoran's health had been completely restored. It was wonderful now that everything had returned to normal. Syaoran was so glad that he was well again that he decided to visit his older brother, and when he told Karen and Seiru of his plan Karen swam straight to her room and began to pack.

Karen was so excited about the trip, she almost didn't hear someone knock on the door. When she called for them to enter, she was delighted to see Renae swim in to see her. "How is the packing going Karen-Chan?"

"It's going great Renae-Chan, I'm so excited to see all my relatives in Atlantica. It's been so long since I've seen them." As Karen talked to Renae, she swam back and forth through her room grabbing new items and putting them into her large seashell.

As Karen went on about the trip, a frown found it's way to Renae's face. She had just recently heard the story of what happened with Hanna's parents, and it got her thinking about her own family. Sometimes she was jealous of how big Karen's family really was.

Karen continued packing and talking about how wonderful it would be to see her her cousins and uncle again, the whole time not noticing the sad and forlorn look on Renae's face. But just as she was about to put another book into the seashell, she caught a glimpse of her best friend's face and quickly swam over to her. "Is everything alright Renae-Chan? Are you sad about not coming with us? I'm sorry you can't come this time too, but father wants this to be a family reunion."

Renae shook her head and smiled at her friend. "No, I'm alright Karen-Chan. It's nothing, so you don't have to worry about it."

Karen nodded and then went back to packing, but as she packed a feeling of worry for her friend stayed in the back of her mind. She knew Renae didn't like to make people worry, but sometimes when she told Karen not to worry it only made her worry more.

Karen continued to pack, she heard another knock on her door. This time when she called for them to enter, her brother Seiru was the one to swim in. Seiru took a long look around Karen's room. In her excitement, she had made quite the mess of her room while packing. "Are you packing, or competing in a messy room contest?"

Karen turned and glared at her brother. She greatly resented his comment about her room. After all it wasn't that messy, she just had to move things around to find everything she would need. "I don't know what you could mean by that, my room isn't messy at all."

Seiru didn't seem to notice the worried look in Renae's eyes when she saw Karen glare at him. "Oh really? It looks like a whirlpool hit in here."

Karen was growing very angry now, it was like Seiru was trying to annoy her. For a few moments she tried to remain calm, but finally her anger took over and she was practically screaming at Seiru. "It does not look like a whirlpool hit my room! Take that BACK!"

Seiru didn't appreciate the way Karen was yelling at him, and found himself yelling as well. "Hey, don't get mad at me, it's your mess Whirlpool Karen."

"Don't you dare call me that! I am not a whirlpool, and my room is not messy!"

Renae looked between the two siblings until she had finally had enough of their bickering. "Stop it right now! Why do you two always have to fight?! Don't you realize just how lucky you are to have each other?" With that said, Renae swam out of the room with tears in her eyes.

Karen was shocked by her friend's sudden outburst. It was so strange for Renae to suddenly yell like that, but she was more ashamed of herself for losing her control and for making Renae cry. "Sei Onii-Chan I'm sorry for screaming at you. It wasn't right, but at the moment we need to find Renae-Chan and apologize to her. Come on I think I know where she went."

Seiru also apologized and swam after Renae with Karen. He tried to think of what could have upset Renae so much, until finally it hit him. "I can't believe I forgot about that, I feel so stupid." Seiru remembered how he and Karen had first met Renae. They had found her unconscious when they were kids and taken her back to the palace. When she woke up, she couldn't remember who she was or where she came from. All she could seem to remember was that her name was Renae.

Karen remembered the day as well and frowned to herself. She was so ashamed of herself, she couldn't believe how foolish and cruel she could be. She had just been rambling on about her family while forgetting Renae couldn't even remember hers.

"We must be the worst friends in the whole ocean to forget something like that. Renae-Chan's always been sensitive when it comes to family things."

Karen nodded, she sure felt like the worst friend in the world. "I can't believe we let ourselves get wrapped up in something so foolish. Anyway here we are. Renae-Chan usually comes to the library when she is upset or has something to think about."

Sure enough, when they entered the library they were easily able to find Renae. She was sitting in a seashell chair and staring at her fins.

The two swam over to her, and Karen quickly pulled her friend into a gentle embrace. "Renae-Chan, Sei Onii-Chan are so sorry for upsetting you. Not only did we act foolish, we forgot about something that is very serious to you and acted overly insensitive. We just hope you can forgive us for being such terrible friends."

"No, not at all." Renae hadn't meant to make them worry about her, but she just couldn't stand to see the two of them fighting. She normally would have handled it differently, but lately her head had been more of a mess than Karen's room.

"We really are sorry Renae-Chan, we didn't mean to upset you." Karen tightened her embrace on Renae slightly, and stroked her hands down her friends back in a soothing manner. "We acted childishly and you had every right to be mad at us."

Renae couldn't bring herself to look at her friends. "I'm not mad, I just don't understand. You two are so lucky to have each other, yet you somehow always find something to argue about."

Seiru looked at Renae and frowned. "I'm sorry Renae-Chan, I know it's not easy for you. After all, you can't even remember your family, and here we are taking ours for granted. But I hope you know that even if you can't remember your old family, you're still part of ours."

Renae knew he was just trying to make her feel better, but Seiru's words cut her like a sword. She knew he thought of her as a sister, and could never think of her as anything more, but it still hurt to hear him say it out loud. She still hadn't told Karen yet, but she'd been in love with Seiru for several years.

At Seiru's, words an idea popped into Karen's head and brought a smile to her face. "Renae-Chan I'm sure it's not too late to get father to change his mind. Sei Onii-Chan could talk to him and ask if he would let you come with us to Atlantica. I'm sure our uncle wouldn't mind one more person, and I'm sure our cousins would love you."

Seiru agreed completely with Karen's idea. "Yea, it's not a family reunion without the whole family after all."

Renae shook her head and pulled herself away from Karen. "No, that's alright." She then left the library and swam off to her room.

Karen was confused by Renae's sudden refusal and departure, but she had a feeling it would be foolish to go after Renae again. It seemed she wanted to be alone, and Karen wasn't going to upset her friend for a second time that day. "I think we should go back to my room. I'll need help cleaning up whirlpool Karen."

Seiru would have laughed at Karen's words if he hadn't been so worried about Renae. "Shouldn't we go after her?"

"No." said Karen in a small sad voice. "Right now I can tell that Renae-Chan wants to be alone, so for now we should give her the space she wants. I will check on her tomorrow morning before we leave."

Knowing that Karen knew Renae better than he did, Seiru reluctantly agreed and went with Karen to help clean her room.

The two spent the next few hours cleaning up Karen's room and packing more things she would need during their trip. Once they had finished it was already rather late, and since they would have to leave early the next day, the two decided to head off to bed to get some much needed sleep.

Seiru knew Karen said to leave her alone, but he was beginning to get rather worried about Renae. He decided to stop by her room before going to bed. When he knocked on the door and didn't get a response, Seiru cracked the door open slightly and peaked inside. The room was rather dark, but he could still make out Renae's silhouette lying down on the bed. Seiru then shut the door hopping not to disturb her, then went off to bed.

After she was sure he was gone, Renae got up and swam over to her desk. She hadn't meant to deceive him like that, but she really didn't want to talk to him right now. She then got out a pen and some parchment and started writing a letter.

The next morning Karen awoke early, and true to her word went to check on Renae. When she reached Renae's room, she knocked on the door but got no response. She knocked again and was greeted with the same results. So she slowly opened Renae's door, peeked inside the room, and was shocked to find her friend nowhere to be found. She finally swam right into the room and began looking for anything that would tell her where Renae was. What she found was a letter on her friend's bed. She quickly opened the letter and began to read it.

"To my dear friends,

By the time anyone finds this, you will no doubt already be on your way to Atlantica. I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. You've all been wonderful, but I'm afraid I can't stay any longer. I need to know who I am and where I came from. I hope you understand, but this is something that I have to do.

Karen, if you're reading this I just want you to know that you are my best friend and I'll never forget you. Please don't be sad, I'm sure we will see each other again.

Thank you all again for everything,

Renae."

As Karen read through the letter she began to shake uncontrollably and cry with earnest, releasing the most heartbroken and heart wrenching sobs. She couldn't believe what she was reading. Renae had left, and by the wording of the letter, some time ago.

Seeing the door open, Seiru swam inside to check on Renae. He was surprised to see Karen there instead, and even more so to see that she was crying. Had she gotten into a fight with Renae or something? "Karen? What's wrong? Why are you crying, and where's Renae-Chan?"

Karen quickly flung herself into her older brother's arms and continued to cry. Words were unable to break through her sobbing, so she simply handed the letter to Seiru and continued to cry into his shoulder while he read it.

Seiru's eyes widened when he read Renae's letter. He then grabbed Karen's wrist and swam off to where their parents were waiting for them.

Karen simply let Seiru drag her along as he swam to their parents. She was too emotionally drained from the shock of losing Renae and from all the tears she shed to argue or fight back. So she simply went limp and let Seiru pull her through the water till he found their parents and handed Syaoran the letter.

Seiru attempted to catch his breath as his parents read the letter. "Renae-Chan's gone. She swam off on her own somewhere." Seiru put his arm around Karen to try and comfort her as she cried.

Syaoran rolled the letter up before speaking to his family. "Alright, let's go find her. It's too dangerous for her to just swim off on her own like this." He the wiped the tears from Karen's eyes. "Don't worry Starfish, we'll find her."

Karen nodded and then swiftly swam into the chariot, ready to begin the search for her best friend. Nothing was going to stop her now. She was going to find Renae no matter what.

Renae swam swiftly, hopping to put plenty of distance between herself and the palace before anyone noticed she was gone. She didn't look back, afraid she might lose her nerve if she did. She tried not to think about how sad Karen would be to find out she was gone either. If she had tried to say goodbye in person, she knew she wouldn't have been able to leave.

As Renae swam, she didn't notice something moving beneath her. She had attracted the attention of a shark, which was now swimming after her. Renae finally noticed the shark's presence when she heard him chuckle. "Well lookie what we have here!" Renae gasped when she saw the shark and swam as fast as she could.

Renae was starting to wish Seiru was there with her, but she knew she couldn't rely on him now. Renae swam and swam, until she noticed someone up ahead of her. A merman? Renae cried to the merman for help, praying her voice would reach him.

The merman heard Renae's screams for help and quickly swam between her and the shark. The shark suddenly stopped when he saw the merman and seemed to become scared. The merman stared down the shark and then began to yell at it. "What do you think you're doing? You know trying to eat merfolk is against the rules! Go on now, go find your meal somewhere else." The shark simply nodded, and the next thing Renae knew he was swimming off in the opposite direction.

Renae was shocked by what had just happened. She had never seen anyone yell at a shark before, never mind a shark that listened to commands from a merman.

After the shark vanished from his sight the merman turned his attention on Renae. "Sorry about him, he knows he isn't allowed to eat merfolk. I don't know what got into him, but don't worry you're safe now."

Renae bowed to the merman whom had just saved her life. "Thank you, you saved me. I've never seen anything like that before. How did you get that shark to listen to you?"

The merman simply bowed back slightly and smiled at Renae. "I wasn't going to let him eat you. Also all Krahsians can control sharks, since we are part shark." As he said this he showed Renae his tail and pointed at the shark like dorsal fin."

"Krahsian?" Renae repeated. She'd never heard of anything like a Krahsian before.

"Yes Krahsian, but we get mistaken for merpeople very often. So don't worry about offending me, after all my people aren't very well known. We mainly live near the boarders of other kingdoms since we don't have our own."

"I see." Renae then smiled at Yari. "Well then, I'm glad to meet you. My name is Renae."

"Nice to meet you Renae-San, I'm Yari."

Renae smiled again, and Yari couldn't help but notice how beautiful her smile was. "Well Yari-San, thank you again for saving my life back there."

"Don't mention it Renae-San. Like I said before, I wasn't going to just let that shark eat you."

"Well, I suppose I should be going then. Thank you again for what you did." As Renae was about to swim away, she felt Yari's hand gently grab her wrist.

Yari didn't know why he suddenly grabbed Renae's wrist, it was like an instinct had kicked in and told him not to let her go. "Renae-San, why are you so far away from any village? It isn't safe here, the boarders are filled with dangers. Just look what could have happened to you."

Renae looked from Yari's hand on her wrist, back up to him. "Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine. You see I'm on a journey right now. Some time ago I lost my memories of who I was and where I came from, and I'm hoping to find some clues about my past."

Yari just looked back at her with a frown gracing his face. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Oh no, please don't trouble yourself about it. I couldn't possibly ask you to-"

But before Renae could finish her sentence she was cut off by another voice. A voice she didn't recognize, but Yari did. A voice he recognized all too well. "I thought I told him to stay at home."

Renae looked in wonder as a second krahsian boy around Karen's age swam up to them. "There you are Nii-San, I've been looking for you." The other Krahsian noticed that Yari was holding Renae's hand and eyed them questioningly. "Am I interrupting something?"

Yari looked at where his brother's eyes were and noticed he was still holding onto Renae. He quickly let go and covered up his embarrassment by clearing his throat. "Ketsueki, I told you to stay home."

Ketsueki raised an eyebrow at Yari. "Yea, well you were taking too long. Anyway, who's this? Your girlfriend?"

Yari glared at his younger brother and ignored his stupid question for a moment, opting to secretly check and see if Renae was offended. When he was sure she wasn't, he turned his attention back on Ketsueki. "This is Renae-San and she is on a journey. I just met her a little while ago when I stopped a shark from eating her."

Ketsueki sighed. "Those guys'll eat rocks if they think they look good. Well, at least you're okay."

Just as Renae was thanking Ketsueki, she heard yet another voice. This one was more familiar to her, and it called to her by name.

Karen had been calling out Renae's name over and over again since she and her family had set on in search of the other mermaid. Sadly so far their search was to no avail, but as they passed over a hill Karen spotted people up ahead, and one of them looked as if it could be Renae. So Karen began to call out to the group. "Hello? Renae-Chan is that you? Renae-Chan if that is you please say something!"

Renae gasped when she saw that not only Karen, but the entire royal family had come looking for her. "I'm sorry, I have to go." Before Renae could swim away, she felt Karen grab onto her.

Karen clung to her best friend. She was so relieved to have found her, but also so confused by why she had left without a single word. It made no sense to Karen, and she just wanted Renae to explain this to her. "Renae-Chan why did you leave? Why did you leave without saying goodbye to us? Please help me understand Renae-Chan, please."

"Karen-Chan..." Renae couldn't bring herself to look at her friend. She could already feel herself losing her nerve. This was exactly why she didn't want to say goodbye. "You read my letter, didn't you? So why? Why did you have to come?"

"I was worried about you Renae-Chan, it's dangerous to just go swimming off by yourself. I don't understand why you left without us."

Renae tried to fight the tears threatening to flow down her cheeks. "Don't you see Karen-Chan? You're a princess, you're needed her in Akua. This journey will be a long one, and it will no doubt take me to many other oceans. I know you don't want to say goodbye, and I'll miss you terribly, but I have to do this. I can't just go on living this way. I need to know who I am."

Karen held back her own tears and simply nodded before letting go of Renae. "Renae-Chan, I understand. I'll miss you very much, but I wish you the best of luck on your journey."

Seiru was about to speak up, but stopped when he felt Syaoran's hand on his shoulder. "Is this really what you want Renae-Chan?" Renae nodded at Syaoran before he continued. "Then we won't stop you. If you follow your heart, it won't lead you wrong. Just know that no matter what happens, you're always welcome at the palace."

Renae nodded and said she would remember. Her eyes then met with Seiru's, the one she had been trying to avoid the most. She couldn't think of anything to say, so he spoke instead. "It's not gonna be the same without you around."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Just promise me you won't fight with Karen-Chan anymore, alright?" Seiru nodded at Renae and promised. He wanted so bad to ask her to stay, but he knew she had to go.

Yari noticed the strange tension between Seiru and Renae as he and Ketsueki watched the interaction between Renae and the royal family of Akua, and it made his blood boil. He didn't know why he was angry but he was, and in that moment he started to feel a strong dislike for the Akuaian prince.

Ketsueki couldn't help staring at Karen. Even with tears in her eyes, he thought she might have been the cutest mermaid he'd ever seen. "Um, so who are your friends Renae-San?" Having completely forgotten about the two krahsians, Renae introduced them all. Ketsueki then smiled at Karen. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

Karen bowed gently at the two brothers and returned Ketsueki's sentiment, but after the quick greetings she turned her attention back to Renae. "I hope you find everything you are looking for Renae-Chan, and I hope when you do you'll return to Akua. Till that day I'll be waiting, and I will think about you every day."

Renae nodded and once again prepared herself to leave. "Thank you all so much for everything. You've done so much for me that I could never thank you enough. I have to go now, but I'm sure we will meet again." With that, Renae turned around and swam away.

Sakura wrapped her arm around Karen. She was very proud of her daughter right now. She knew it wasn't easy saying goodbye to a best friend, but Karen handled herself well. Sakura then kissed her daughter on the forehead before they all got back in the seashell chariot. They said goodbye to Yari and Ketsueki, and then headed off for Atlantica.


	12. Chapter 12

Atlantica was truly a beautiful place. It had been so long since they had last been there, and Karen wondered how much it had changed. As Syaoran brought the seashell chariot up to the palace, they could easily see Triton and his seven daughters waiting for them near the gate. Seiru always had such a hard time remembering all of their names, and often got them mixed up with each other.

Triton and his daughters swam over to the chariot and began to greet Karen, Seiru and their parents. "Syaoran I'm so glad to see you again." Said Triton to his younger brother. "Your children have grown so much since I last saw them."

As Syaoran greeted Triton, the youngest of the mermaids swam up to Karen. "Karen! I'm so glad to see you again!"

Karen smiled at the other mermaid, happy to see her as well. "Ariel! It's so wonderful to see you again too."

Another one of the Mermaids swam up to Seiru. He was having trouble with her name, but he could at least remember she was the most annoying of the seven. "Oh, um hi... Arista?"

The mermaid frowned at her cousin. Why couldn't he ever get her name right? She then pointed to one of her sisters. "That's Arista, I'm Adella. Honestly Seiru, how could you ever forget someone like me?"

Arista, who was floating near her aunt let out a small giggle. Her sister Adella was always so self-centered, but Arista and the other girls didn't mind. Adella's attitude almost always allowed for hours of endless fun.

Seiru brushed off Adella and swam over to two of the others. They were the only two who's names Seiru could easily remember. "Hey Attina and Aquatta."

Seeing that Seiru could still remember the names of the ohter two mermaids irked Adella. "Oh, but you remember their names?!" Attina brushed off Adella and greeted Seiru.

Aquata just sighed, disappointed by her younger sister's childish behavior. But unlike other times when she would scold her sister, she simply ignored her and greeted Seiru.

Seiru tried to make remember the names of the other two. He was pretty sure they were Allana and Andrina, but he couldn't remember. He often wished his aunt and uncle had stopped after Attina.

Ariel smiled as she spoke to Karen. "Hey Karen, do you want to go for a swim? There's something I can't wait to show you."

Karen smiled at her cousin and nodded. "I would love to go for a swim Ariel."

Ariel claped her hands together in excitement. "Great! I"m sure you'll love it."

"I'm sure I'll love it too."

Ariel took Karen's hand and the two of them swam over to their parents. "Daddy, Karen and I are going to go for a swim. Is that okay?"

Triton nodded at Ariel, showing her it was okay if she took her cousin for a swim around Atlantica. "Just don't go too far, and don't stay out too late. Be back in time for dinner."

As Ariel agreed to her father's terms, Syaoran turned to Karen. "You stay with your cousin, alright Starfish?"

Karen nodded at her father and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I will father, don't worry. See you later."

As the two swam off, Ariel took Karen to a cove that was hidden by a large rock. She then moved the rock and swam inside with Karen. "This is what I wanted to show you Karen."

Karen looked around the secret cove and was surprised and overjoyed to see that it was full of human things. It reminded her of her own collection back in Akua. "This is amazing Ariel."

Ariel swam in further and started showing Karen some of her treasures. "I'm glad you like it. I remember you said last time you were interested in humans, so I thought you might like to see my collection. I found these things while exploring those floaty things with my friend Flounder. We've learned so much about the humans. Like those floaty things, they're actualy called 'ships'."

"I've never seen a ship before, do you think we could go see one well I'm here?"

Ariel nodded to Karen. "Of course we can. Ships have so many amazing human things in them, and you can really learn a lot about them there. We can go today if you want. Although, we should probably check back in to the palace before we go so that our fathers don't worry about us. Maybe we can find my friend Flounder too before we go."

Karen nodded and agreed with Ariel about checking in with their fathers so they wouldn't worry about them and ruin the girls fun. She also agreed about bringing along Ariel's friend. "I would like to meet your friend Flounder."

"Alright, then let's head back." Ariel swam back out of the cove with Karen and put the rock back in it's place before returning to the palace.

When they returned to the palace, they found their fathers and told them they would be doing a bit more exploring around Atlantica for a while, but that they would be back to have dinner with everyone.

Syaoran was becoming a little nervous letting Karen swim around so much. After all, he knew how Karen loved to go exploring around for human things, and he knew all too well that there was an abundance of ships and other things for her to get into. "I'd feel a bit better if you told us where you were going." As Syaoran said this, Triton nodded in agreement.

Sakura tried to ease her husband and brother-in-law's nerves a little. "Oh you two, stop worrying so much." Sakura then smiled at Ariel ad Karen. "Why don't you girls bring Seiru with you? Then maybe these two worry whales will settle down a little."

Karen was a little wary of the idea her mother had given, but she knew it would be better to bring Seiru along so she nodded and said okay. At least with Seiru along they could still try to have fun and explore a ship.

Ariel also wasn't sure if they should bring Seiru along, but decided it better not to argue and went with Karen to find Seiru. "Are you sure it's okay to bring Seiru? Is he interested in humans too?"

Karen shrugged slightly. She wasn't sure if Seiru was interested in humans or not, but she knew her brother was going to keep them safe, or at least try to. "I'm sure Sei Onii-Chan won't tell our fathers about what we're going to do."

Ariel and Karen kept swimming until they found Seiru swimming through the halls alone. He seemed to be deep in thought and almost didn't notice Karen and Ariel swim up to him. "You back already?"

"We're going back out in a bit. Mother just thought it would be a good idea if you came along with us, so father and Uncle Triton won't worry."

"Sorry, I don't really feel like going for a swim right now."

Karen shrugged and then turned to Ariel. "Well I suppose we'll just have to go explore that ship on our own Ariel, come on we better get going."

"Wait a second." Seiru grabbed Karen's wrist to keep her from swimming off. "That's one of those things Mother was talking about, isn't it?" Seiru then sighed before letting go of Karen. "Fine, I'll go. I can't have you swimming off and getting yourself into trouble after all."

Karen grinned and then quickly winked at Ariel to show her that her plan had worked. "Alright then let's get going."

Ariel was amazed by how easily Karen was able to convince Seiru. She then led the two of them out of the palace and began looking for Flounder.

When they found him, he was swimming around a coral reef playing with two other fish his age. The three merfolk swam up to him and Ariel said hello and introduced him to Karen and Seiru. "Flounder, we're gonna go exploring, do you want to come with us?"

Flounder eyed Ariel questioningly. "Where are we going?"

Ariel didn't want to say they were going to a ship in front of Flounder's friends. "You know, around."

Figuring he knew what Ariel was talking about, and knowing that she'd drag him with her no matter what, Flounder said goodbye to his friends and swam off with the three merfolk.

Ariel led the other three to where the old sunken ship was, and when Karen saw she was shocked and amazed. She had never seen anything like it before. She was excited to explore it and find all the human things hidden inside.

Flounder on the other hand wasn't as excited as Karen. "I don't know Ariel, that one looks pretty old."

Ariel just sort of brushed off Flounder's worrying. "Oh Flounder, don't be such a guppy."

Flounder pouted as Ariel swam on ahead. "I'm not a guppy."

Karen giggled at the interaction between the two friends, they seemed to get along so well, in fact they seemed to act just like she and Renae did. For a moment she became sad at the memory of her friend but quickly shook off the sadness and swam towards the ship. "Come on we don't have time to waste."

Ariel lead the way inside, followed by Karen and Flounder, with Seiru bringing up the rear. Karen swam slowly through each section of the ship looking around for any item that looked like it could have belonged to a human.

Seiru couldn't help but be fascinated by the various items that lay before him. He had never seen anything like them before. Still, he tried to hide his curiosity from Karen, as she would never let him hear the end of it. As Karen swam through the ship she came across a small, beautifully decorated box. When she opened the box a song began to play, and she found jewelry inside of it.

When he heard the music, Seiru swam over to Karen and looked at the box over her shoulder. Something about it seemed familiar. A box that played music filled with jewelry. He then remembered Sakura mentioning something like that. "Hey, isn't that like what Mother told us about?"

Karen nodded slowly, she was mesmerized by the tune the box was playing. It was so beautiful. It was as if the tune itself spoke of hope and love. "Do you think it could be the same box?"

"If it is, then this is where it happened." If it was the same box, Seiru figured that they must be in the same ship their mother had told them about. The one where she was injured, and their father's hatred for humans was born. Seiru started to become nervous about letting Karen be in such a dangerous place.

Karen stared at the box and listened to the tune as it began to play again, it seemed to be on some sort of loop. It would end and then start right back up again. "If this really is the same box then this ship holds great meaning, and a vast number of memories."

Ariel and Flounder listened with confusion. "What are you talking about? I thought you said you've never been in a ship before?"

Karen looked up at her cousin and her friend a small sad frown on her face. "Not memories for us, memories for our parents."

Hearing that confused Ariel even more. "As in both Aunt Sakura and Uncle Syaoran? But I thought Uncle Syaoran hated humans just as much as Daddy?"

"He didn't always. When our father was young, he was as interested in humans as we are Ariel. There was an accident in this ship, our mother was hurt and since that day our father has hated humans with a passion."

Ariel was shocked to hear Karen's story. "I had no idea."

Karen looked at Seiru for a moment and then back at Ariel, a frown still on her face. "Sei Onii-Chan and I didn't find out till a short while ago, our mother told us the story."

Ariel thought for a moment before speaking up again. "You know, we should find out what this thing is. I know someone who can tell us what it is and how humans use it."

Karen was shocked and surprised by her cousin's words, but quickly became excited to meet someone who knew about human things. "Let's go then! I would love to know what this thing is."

As interested as he was to find out about this object from their parents' past, Seiru was also a bit skeptical about this friend of Ariel's. "Just who is this 'friend' anyway?"

Ariel smiled as she spoke. "His name is Scuttle, and he's a seagull."

Seiru stared at Ariel in disbelief. "As in on the surface?! No. No way, we are not going to the surface." He had agreed to go exploring, but Seiru drew the line when it came to going to the surface.

Karen turned to her brother and pouted slightly. "But Sei Onii-Chan if we don't go to the surface we will never know what this thing is. It is something from our parents', past we should do all we can to find out more about it."

"I said I'd come with you exploring, but there's no way I'm letting you go to the surface. No way Karen. We could be seen by humans."

Karen let out a disappointed sigh and made it appear as if she had given up, but the next thing Seiru knew Karen had grabbed Ariel's hand and swam right past him and out of the ship.

"Karen!" Seiru swam after Karen and Ariel as fast as he could. He should have expected something like this from his rebellious younger sister.

Realizing what Karen was doing, Ariel took the lead and swam towards the spot where she usually met Scuttle. When she found the spot, she and Karen emerged from the water and swam up to the rocks where seagulls flew up above them.

Karen had never been to the surface before, it was all so new to her. So amazing and strange. It was wonderful, it was more than she could have ever imagined.

As Karen took in the view, they heard a voice from above calling Ariel's name. Ariel waved as a seagull flew down and landed on the rocks in front of them. "Hi Scuttle. I want you to meet my cousin, Ka-"

Before Ariel could finish, she felt something pulling her tail and she and Karen were yanked back into the water. The look on Seiru's face told them he didn't appreciate their little stunt.

Karen laughed nervously hoping to try and ease the tension. Unfortunately it didn't work and the expression on Seiru's face didn't change. "We didn't do anything wrong, plus we are nowhere near a place where humans live."

Seiru was not amused by the antics of his sister and their youngest cousin. "Oh nothing wrong my fins. I told you not to go to the surface, and you-"

Ariel rolled her eyes at Seiru. She knew he was just as curious about the box as they were. Besides, Scuttle was waiting, and they didn't want to be rude to him. "Just come on." Ariel then pulled herself out of the water and sat on one of the rocks next to Scuttle.

"Andr- Al- Ariel!" Seiru couldn't believe Ariel had just done that. Before he knew it, Karen had also grabbed hold of a rock and started to pull herself up. "Karen, don't you dare!"

Karen ignored her brother and quickly sat herself next to Ariel on the rock. But before she could get comfortable, something strange began to happen and before she knew it her tail and fins were gone. In their place was a pair of legs and feet.

Seiru and Ariel stared at the pair of legs that had suddenly appeared where Karen's tail once was. Neither of them could believe what they had just seen. Seiru found himself unable to say anything coherent, he was completely dumbfounded by his sister's transformation.

"I've been to the surface countless times, but I've never seen anything like that before."

Karen couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had legs, she was human. She had never even dreamed of such a possibility. But the moment didn't last long because just as she was starting to move her new found toes a wave hit the rock and her tail and fins reappeared.

Seiru couldn't believe his eyes. As the wave dispersed, Karen's tail once again turned into legs. Figuring it was being out of the water that caused the transformation, Seiru quickly grabbed Karen's wrist and pulled her back in the water. Finally, he was able to get his thoughts together enough to speak. "WHAT WAS THAT!?"

Karen didn't know how to respond. She had no answer to give Seiru. She was just as confused as he was. "I don't know, that's never happened before."

"Your tail, it just-" Seiru looked up at Ariel. She had been out of the water the whole time and nothing happened to her. "But, Ariel's still looks fine."

Flounder, who had gotten left behind by the faster swimming merfolk, had finally caught up to them only to be confused about what they were talking about. He couldn't understand why Seiru was freaking out so much.

Karen was getting annoyed by her brother's panic attack, so she swam away from him and climbed back onto the rock. Once again her tail and fins transformed. This time however, Karen stood up. She nearly fell a few time because she wasn't use to walking, but soon she began to walk with ease around the small patch of land.

Flounder watched in amazement as Karen walked around on the rock, but Seiru wasn't nearly as impressed. "Karen, you get back in the water this instant!" Seiru reached up to grab Karen, but she was just out of his reach. He decided to get out of the water hoping to get close enough to Karen to pull her back in, but stopped when he felt something strange. Seiru looked down at where his tail was, and saw that he too had legs and feet. "WHAT THE-" Seiru panicked when he saw his legs and feet and fell of the rock back into the water.

Karen heard her brother's shocked outburst and quickly ran over to where he was in the water to see if was alright. "Sei Onii-Chan what happened?"

Seiru tried to convince himself this wasn't happening. "Someone please tell me I just imagined that!"

Ariel couldn't believe this was happening. Her cousins somehow had the ability to turn human when they got out of the water. Part of her was a little envious, but at the same time she was excited. "Seiru's tail turns into legs too?"

Karen couldn't believe her cousin's words, but it wouldn't make sense for Ariel to make that up, so she had no other choice but to believe what Ariel had just said about Seiru. "Sei Onii-Chan, your tail transformed as well?"

Seiru tried to wrap his mind around what was going on. "This is not happening. This is not happening! Nothing's happening to Ariel, so why us? You know what, never mind. Get back in the water you two, we're going back." Seiru started to ramble as if to convince himself the past few minutes didn't happen.

Karen rolled her eyes at her brother's antics and went back to walking around the rock. It was amazing the ability to walk, she could spend hours just walking around this small rock.

Still freaking about what was going on, Seiru reached up to pull Karen back in, once again finding she was out of his reach. "Karen, what did I just say. Get back in the water right now!"

Karen was not impressed by her brother's attitude so she just continued to walk around the rock, and then an idea came to her. "If you want me back in the water, come and get me."

While he knew Karen was just goading him, Seiru pulled himself out of the water and climbed up on the rocks. He tried to ignore the fact that his tail and fins had once again transformed, but that proved to be rather difficult. "Karen, I'm not playing around here. Get over here!"

Karen shook her head and walked further away from Seiru. She wasn't going to let her brother ruin this strange and sudden opportunity for her.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Seiru stood up and tried to get his balance. These legs were so strange to him, and he wondered how humans got around with them. He stumbled over to Karen and tried to grab her wrist, but she gracefully walked away before he could catch up. "Karen, quit fooling around. You're not human, you're a mermaid and mermaids live in the water. Now get back in the water!"

Karen continued to step out of Seiru's reach, and held back her laughter as she watched her brother stumble around on his new human legs. This experience was too good to give up yet. She wanted to enjoy her legs just a little longer.

Seiru continued to chase Karen around the rock, still not used to his legs. "Karen, cut it out before you hurt yourse-" Before Seiru could finish, he fell off the rock and landed back in the water.

Karen turned around when she heard Seiru get cut off, and when she saw he'd fallen back in the water she let out a small chuckle. It was so silly seeing her brother stumble all over the place.

Ariel also giggled and looked over the edge at Seiru. "Come on Seiru, lighten up. I think it's amazing what's happened to you and Karen."

As she and Karen looked over the edge to Seiru, they noticed that he was no longer yelling at them. In fact, he wasn't moving at all. Flounder swam over to Seiru as he lay on the edge of the rocks just below the water's surface.

Karen gasped and quickly dove back into the water and swam over to Seiru. "Sei Onii-Chan! Sei Onii-Chan, please open your eyes! Sei Onii-Chan!"

Ariel also dove into the water to check on Seiru. When he opened his eyes, he made sure the first thing he did was grab Karen's wrist so she couldn't get away from him. "We are going back now. This game of yours is over Karen."

Karen was shocked, and quickly grew angry. Her brother had played an awful trick on her and it made her madder then she had ever been before. "You jerk! You horrible jerk! You made me worry about you! How could you be so cruel?!"

But Seiru wasn't quite as alright as she thought he was. He then rubbed his back with his free hand. "What are you talking about, that actually hurt. Now we're going back. If you don't come with me now, I'm telling Father you swam up to the surface after I told you no."

Karen frowned at her brother but said no more, opting to give him the silent treatment and simply swim back to the palace of Atlantica in silence. She couldn't believe Seiru would play such a trick on her, and she promised then and there she would never fall for a trick like that ever again.

As they swam, Seiru tried to shake the pain in his back. Karen didn't seem to believe him, but he'd hit the rock bed rather hard when he fell. Ariel noticed as she swam behind him that his back was almost as red as her hair in some places, and wondered if he was really alright.

Karen paid no attention to Seiru as they swam back to the palace, and when they reached the palace she swam to the dinning room right away. So that she wouldn't have to be near her brother for a while. She was still mad at him and at the moment wanted nothing to do with him.

Seiru didn't seem to mind anymore that Karen was mad at him, and started to get angry himself. Not only did Karen not listen to him, but she didn't seem to care at all that he got hurt. As far as he was concerned, if she wanted to act like a brat then that was fine by him. Besides, he had to make sure his back wasn't still red by the time their parents saw him.

Karen found an empty seat between Andrina and Allana, and quietly sat down. She didn't really want to talk to anyone so she just began to eat. Giving herself an excuse as to why she couldn't talk.

Seiru sat down on the opposite end next to Aquata, who seemed to notice the tension between him and Karen. He decided not to say anything and just started eating as well.

Aquata wanted to say something, but decided it best if she kept quiet. After all, she didn't want to draw everyone's attention to her cousins. She would ask Seiru what happened later on when she knew she could get him alone. So for the time being she stayed quiet and ate her dinner just like everyone else did.

Seiru sighed to himself and thought about what Renae would say. She had told them before she left not to fight, and yet here they were fighting again. Thinking about it started to depress him, and he lost what little appetite he had. He then excused himself and swam out of the dinning room.

Aquata wanted to swim out after him and check on him, but she knew that at the moment what Seiru needed was some time to himself. So she resisted the urge and simply continued to eat.

Ariel started to worry about how Karen and Seiru were fighting. She decided to swim over to Karen to voice her concern. "Karen, are you okay?"

Karen sighed and nodded. She knew she would soon get over her anger at her brother and apologize to him, but at the moment she just didn't want anything to do with him. But she didn't want to worry Ariel, so she turned and gave her a small smile. "I'm fine Ariel."

Ariel frowned at her cousin. "I'm worried about Seiru. I think he might have actually hurt himself. His back was really red when we were swimming back, and he looked like he was swimming a little awkward too."

Karen was shocked by her cousin's word. Seiru was actually hurt, he hadn't played a trick on her? If that was true then she had not only acted horribly towards him, but had been a complete idiot. "We should go check on him."

Ariel nodded and went with Karen to find Seiru. When they found him, he was in the room he usually used when they would visit Atlantica, and was lying face down on the bed. He would have lain down on his back, but it was still sore from the fall.

Karen swam over to her brother and placed her hand gently on an area of Seiru's back that wasn't red. "I'm sorry Sei Onii-Chan. I'm sorry for acting so childish and for not noticing you were hurt."

Seiru didn't try to get up to look at Karen. "I can't believe you actually thought I'd do something like that. You should know I'm not the type to say something hurt unless it really hurt."

"I was angry I wasn't thinking straight. I know you aren't the kind of merman to play such a cruel joke on someone. I truly am sorry Sei Onii-Chan."

Seiru closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't worry about it, I don't even care anymore." Seiru kept thinking about Renae, and how they had promised her they wouldn't fight. It made him sick thinking he had broken that promise so soon after making it.

Karen frowned and was about to say something but stopped herself and simply shook her head. She had no idea what else to do, so she simply left the room with Ariel and left Seiru alone with his thoughts.

Ariel wasn't sure if they had really made up or not. "Are you sure it's okay now? That's not really what I would call making up."

Karen let out a small disappointed sigh and shrugged. She herself wasn't sure if she and Seiru had made up either, but she just knew that at the moment Seiru needed to be by himself.


	13. Chapter 13

Seiru swam though the halls of the palace of Atlantica with a frown on his face. Just before coming with his family for a visit, his good friend Renae had gone off on a long journey. Before she left, he and Karen had just made up from a recent fight, and she made them promise that they wouldn't fight while she was gone.

As he swam, he passed Adella and Andrina who both noticed something strange was going on with him. Seiru barely noticed them as he continued to swim, lost in thought. Shortly after saying goodbye to Renae, they arrived in Atlantica, and he went out with Karen and one of their cousins. While they were out, they went up to the surface and found that his and Karen's tails turned into human legs when they got out of the water. Seiru tried to get Karen back in the water, but he slipped and hurt his back. Karen had thought that he was pretending just to get her back in the water, and the two of them wound up not talking for the entire swim back to the palace.

Seiru thought he heard Attina and Aquata say hello to him, but Seiru just kept swimming. He couldn't get the fight out of his head. Karen eventually realized he wasn't faking and apologized to him, but that wasn't what was bothering him. He couldn't believe he had broken his promise to Renae. He had just promised her he wouldn't fight with Karen, and yet only a few days latter did they find themselves fighting again. The promise he made to his friend was broken, and kept eating at him.

Seiru yawned as he passed Arista and Allana. He had been up all night thinking about the fight. Now that he thought about it, he didn't get much sleep the night beforehand either.

Karen was talking with Ariel when she saw Seiru swimming towards them. He seemed a little out of it, he hadn't even responded when both Aquata and Attina had said hello to him. It was like he was lost inside his own world and no one could break through to him. This worried Karen a great deal, but she didn't know what to do to help her brother. She didn't know what to do to cheer him up. But she thought that if anyone could help her come up with an idea it would be her cousins.

Ariel swam up to her six other sisters with Karen. They also seemed to be worried about him. "I wonder what's bothering Seiru?"

Adella watched Seiru swim out of sight and gave her sister's a thoughtful look. "Wow, he's got it bad. It looks like our dear Seiru's in love."

Allana took a long strong look at Seiru and nodded. She herself had never been in love before, but she had seen the same look in Adella and even Attina's eyes before. She knew for a fact the only time they had looked like that they had both been in love, and still were. "Adella is right, Seiru is in love and probably has been for a long time."

Attina nodded in agreement. "It's written all over his face. He's thinking about someone very important to him."

Karen was shocked by her cousins words. Her brother was in love? It didn't make much sense to her at first. After all Seiru didn't know that many mermaids. But after a little thinking Karen realized that Seiru had to be in love with Renae. After all, he was very protective of her and always did his best to keep her happy.

Adella flipped her hair before continuing. "Oh, he's in love alright. I'd know that look in his eyes from a sea league away. I get it all the time."

Aquata rolled her eyes at her younger sister and let out an annoyed sigh. Just once she wished Adella wouldn't make it all about her. "Adella please focus. Seiru is who we are focusing on right now. For once dear sister of mine you aren't the topic of discussion."

Adella just shrugged off her older sister. "Still, judging by the way he's been moping around lately, I'd say she turned him down."

Allana stared at Seiru as he slowly floated through the hall, not truly paying attention to where he was going. He truly did look as if he'd had his heart broken by whoever this mermaid of his was. "Do you think there is anything we can do to cheer him up? Usually when one of my animal friends is sad I will try to distract them with something they like. Do you think we could do that for Seiru?"

Attina nodded at Allana's idea. "I suppose we could do that. I've been meaning to tell him about this book I've been reading."

Arista thought about it for a moment then nodded, Allana's idea sounded like a good one to her, it would be nice to help her cousin feel better even if it was just for a while. "I could take him for a seahorse ride, I was planning on going on one with Dylan. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if Seiru came with us."

Adella giggled as she thought of her own plan. "I could take him on a date." Ariel then rolled her eyes at her older sister saying that probably wouldn't help.

Allana thought about it for a bit and then a small smile graced her face. "I could introduce him to my animal friends and show him my garden."

Andrina had a harder time trying to think of something she could do with Seiru. "I suppose I could take him for a swim."

Ariel was next to speak up. "And Karen and I can take him on a tour of Atlantica."

Aquata smiled at her sisters and her cousin, it was wonderful to see them working together. "I suppose since he'll need a change of pace after all that excitement I could give him a tour of the palace."

The eight mermaids started to get excited as they talked about their plans. Seiru was important to all of them, and they each had a part to play in cheering him up.

Aquata smiled and nodded at the seven other mermaids, she was excited and ready to put their plan into action. "Alright girls time to get ready. Our plan starts now."

As Karen and her cousins each went out with their plans to cheer up Seiru, Syaoran asked to speak with Triton privately. He had been meaning to talk with his older brother alone since arriving in Atlantica, but someone was always around in need of something.

Triton floated in the throne room with Syaoran. Silenced filled the large room causing a very serious water to surround the two brothers. "What is it you wished to tell me Syaoran? Seeing as you had to do it in private, it must be very serious."

Syaoran nodded and held eye contact with his brother. "It's Ursula. Not too long ago my new captain was taken over by a powerful spell and tried to steal the Scepter of Akua. For a while no one really noticed anything, but after Hanna-San managed to break free for a moment, the spell got stronger and she started talking in Ursula's voice. After we were able to free her from the spell, Hanna-San was able to give me an accurate description of Ursula too. I think she's up to her old tricks again."

Triton sighed to himself and shook his head in disappointment. This was just like Ursula. She had failed to get what she wanted in Atlantica, so she decided to move on to Akua for a while. "I was wondering why sightings of her had been decreasing in number here in Atlantica. It seems she has decided to go after your kingdom for a while. Going after a place no one but you and Sakura would know her in. It seems our sister is more crafty than we thought. Be careful Syaoran, Ursula is not someone to be taken lightly."

Syaoran nodded. Their sister had always been nasty in her youth, but they never would have imagined back then that she would turn into their greatest enemy. Syoaran sighed as he thought of the monster Ursula had become. "And to think, she was once Princess of Atlantica. Not only that, but our flesh and blood."

Triton nodded slowly, a sad look ghosting over his face before being replaced by a serious stern scowl. "You can never truly know what someone's true nature is until they decided to show it to you. Just remember never trust Ursula. Doing so could bring you your own doom."

Syaoran nodded at his brother's statement. They may still be related by blood, but Ursula was no longer their sister.

"Now brother of mine, let us turn our thoughts to happier things. You and your family are here to enjoy yourselves and forget about Ursula's attack."

Syaoran smiled at his brother. "You're right, thanks Triton."

As they finished talking, Syaoran thought he saw Seiru swim past the entrance to the throne room.

Seiru swam down the hallway with Adella following closely behind him. "I said no Andrina."

Adella frowned as Seiru once again mixed her name up with one of her sisters. "It's Adella! Come on Seiru, I promise you'll have fun."

Seiru turned a corner and quickly hid behind a pillar. Once he was sure Adella was gone, he swam back out and found himself face to face with Aquatta. "Oh, it's you Aquata. Your sisters won't leave me alone for some reason."

Aquata had to resist the urge to giggle and smile less she reveal their plan to Seiru. So instead she kept her face expressionless and her tone smooth and gentle. "I'm sure they are just trying to show you a good time Seiru. After all you've just been wandering the palace halls alone for hours. I'm sure they just want to show you all Atlantica has to offer."

Seiru sighed. "Yea, well they're going overboard. Even Attina was acting weird today. She kept going on and on about this book she was reading, which I didn't mind at first, but she practically told me the entire story herself. Then Karen and... Ariel, I think it was dragged me around Atlantica; then another one made me go seahorse riding with her; another one asked me to see her entire garden; then another one pretty much forced me to go swimming with her." Seiru then pointed back to where he ditched Adella. "And that one won't leave me alone about some date... I swear, as soon as I get rid of one of them, another one pops up."

Aquata looked over to where Adella was floating looking back and forth trying to spot where Seiru went and let out a small sigh. Adella was always the one to take things overboard. "I'm sure that most of my sisters mean well. They are just trying to make your time here as enjoyable as possible Seiru."

Seiru sighed again. "It's like they're taking shifts or something. Please tell me you don't have some crazy adventure planned too, because I am wiped"

"I don't have a crazy adventure planned, but why don't you join me on a leisurely swim through the palace?"

Seiru smiled at Aquata. Out of all his cousins, she was the one who understood him the best. "Thank you, I'd like that. It'd be a nice change of pace."

Aquata simply returned Seiru's smile, nodded, and then begin swimming through the halls with him at a slowly and steady pace. "Seiru, I couldn't help but notice that ever since you've been here something has been on your mind and that whatever it is, it has been distracting you a great deal. If you want to talk about it with me, you can."

Seiru looked down at the sea floor as he and Aquata swam. He had to admit, he was still thinking about Renae. "Well... Do you remember my friend Renae-Chan? The one who's been staying with us for a while?"

Aquata nodded, she remembered having met the other mermaid when she visited Akua with her father a while back. "I remember her, she was a very sweet young mermaid. So friendly and kind."

Seiru nodded, agreeing with Aquatta's description of Renae. "Well just before we left to come here, she decided to leave on her own to search for her parents. But she's not exactly the bravest or strongest Mermaid you've ever met, so I've been worried about her

Aquata quickly put two and two together and realized that Renae was the mermaid that Seiru was in love with. "I see, you truly care for her greatly don't you?"

"Well yea, she's like a sister to me."

Aquata sighed and rolled her eyes at her cousin, womdering to herself if mermen were are all so dense. "She isn't just a 'sister' to you Seiru. You may not have realized it yet, but you are in love with her."

Seiru was caught completely off guard by Aquata. "Wh-where did that come from?! I'm not in love with her or anything, she's just a good friend." He couldn't believe Aquata would say such a thing. He'd never thought of Renae that way in his life.

Aquata sighed, it was true that all merman were the same. Oblivious to their own feelings and never willing to admit them. "I have six sisters Seiru. I know love when I see it and you are most certainly in love."

Seiru continued to argue with Aquata. "I'm telling you, that's not it. Yea I care about her, but to say I'm in love with her?"

Aquata simply sighed and said no more. It was useless to argue with such a dense and stubborn merman. "I just hope you realize your feelings sooner or later." With that said Aquata swam down the hall and away from Seiru saying to herself. "I just hope for your sake it is sooner rather then later."

Seiru just floated there, still somewhat dumbfounded by what Aquata had said. Him, in love with Renae? That was impossible, wasn't it? Just then, Renae's smiling face appeared in the back of his mind, and he felt his face grow warm. "Just what is she to me?" As Seiru tried to sort out his feelings, he felt a slight tickle in his throat and coughed slightly.

Aquata continued to swim through the halls of the palace, thinking of her conversation with Seiru with a deep concentration, until she came across her sisters and Karen.

Attina saw her sister swim up to them and smiled. "There she is. We've been waiting for you Aquata."

Aquata returned the smile half heartily. She was still concerned by Seiru's dense nature and quick refusals. It was as if he didn't want to even believe it was possible to love Renae. That thought alone scared Aquata out of her mind.

Adella immediately started probing Aquata for answers. "So, how did it go? Did he say anything to you?"

Aquata sighed and quickly quieted down Adella so she could tell the others what she had learned. "I learned that he is in love with Renae, the girl that I met during my last visit to Akua."

Andrina sighed at the very thought. "Wow, that's so romantic."

Allana and Arista both nodded agreeing with Andrina. Karen simply smiled to herself, proud that her assumption had turned out to be true. But Aquata didn't look happy and simply looked down at her fins. "But it doesn't seem like he's realized it yet, or maybe he doesn't want to realize it."

Attina was confused by Aquata's strange comment. "Why wouldn't he want to realize it?"

"I have this strong feeling that Seiru feels like it would be wrong to see Renae as anything but an adopted sister. He may love her, but he has locked away those feelings and has chosen to ignore them." Hearing that saddened her sisters. They all wished there was something they could do for him.

Aquata just sighed and kept her gaze on her fins. She was sad herself and had no idea what to do to bring a smile back to the face of her dearest cousin.

As they tried to figure out a way to make Seiru feel better, Seiru coughed down the other end of the hall and around the corner. When they went to look, they noticed that he looked a bit pale.

Allana looked at Seiru with a very worried expression on her face, she knew how to take care of animals but merfolk were a whole other thing. "I hope Seiru isn't sick."

Allana's comment triggered something else in Attina's mind. "Oh no, what if he was already sick, and all that swimming around we made him do today just made it worse?"

Karen and the others were all so worried, they didn't notice when Aquata swam over to Seiru and began asking him if he was feeling alright. Aquata began to check and see if Seiru had a fever and told him that he looked rather pale, while the others began to discuss whether or not they had made Seiru even more sick.

Seiru tried to brush Aquata off, but found it even more difficult when he started coughing again.

Aquata was tired of her cousin's stubborn nature, so instead of arguing with him she simply grabbed his wrist and dragged him back to the guest room he was using. "You need to rest. You aren't feeling well, and if you don't rest you'll just make yourself feel even worse. Soon it won't just be a bad cough."

Seiru tried to protest against her, but he knew Aquata wouldn't listen until he was resting in bed. Still, she didn't have to be so forceful. "I can swim on my own you know."

"This is the only way I'll get you to listen, you are just too stubborn sometimes. Now get into bed and try to sleep for a while. Someone will come get you when dinner is ready. Until then I better not see you or hear about you being outside of this room."

Seiru groaned as Aquata shut the door behind him. He didn't like the way she was treating him like a child. Still, he was pretty tired, so he decided to just suck it up and lay down for a bit.

Aquata swam through the hall a bit until she was once again with her sisters and her cousin. She informed them that Seiru was resting and to tell her that if they saw him outside of his room before dinner to find her and tell her as soon as possible.

Ariel couldn't help but smile at her oldest sister. Aquata had always been the responsible one, and made sure to take care of her and her other sisters whenever they needed her.

Aquata smiled back at her youngest sister for a moment before addressing the whole group of mermaids. "Alright then since Seiru is resting and there is nothing more we can do for him, I suppose it is best we all do our own things until dinner time."

As his sister and cousins all swam off on their own, Seiru's mind wandered once again back to thoughts of Renae. Aquata said he was in love with her, was that really what he was feeling? Was that the real reason he didn't want her to go? If it was true, then it was already too late. He didn't know when, or even if he would ever see her again. Seiru closed his eyes, memories of his time with Renae playing through his mind. He lay there awake trying to sort out his feelings, and so he went for the rest of the night.


	14. Chapter 14

Sakura swam through the halls of the palace of Atlantica. It had been such a long time since she was last there. So many fond memories of growing up with Syaoran and Triton. She met her best friend Athena here too. Still, she would soon have to say goodbye once again to her childhood home, as tonight was their last night there. Seiru had gotten sick while they were there and he didn't seem to be getting better, so they decided it best to go back to Akua.

When Sakura reached the room she was looking for, she saw her daughter and seven nieces talking and laughing. They had decided to have a sleepover together since it was their last night. "Alright girls, it's getting late."

The girls all frowned slightly at Sakura's words. They didn't want this night to end, because when it did they would have to say goodbye. Before sadness began to completely fill the room, an idea popped into Arista's head and she was quick to voice it to everyone. "Aunt Sakura, before we go to sleep will you sing to us the song you wrote with mother?"

Ariel was confused as the rest of her sisters got excited to hear the song. "What song?"

Attina looked at her youngest sister and frowned. "Oh that's right. I almost forgot how young you were when our mother passed away."

Sakura swam over to Ariel and petted her head. "That's alright Ariel. You see, your mother Athena and I wrote a song together back when we were about the same age as you and Adella." Sakura then looked out at the rest of them. "Tell you what girls, I'll sing the song if you promise to go to sleep afterwards. Deal?"

The girls all nodded and quickly got together in a small huddle, creating a sort of audience. All of them were very excited to hear Sakura sing, especially Karen and Ariel who had never heard the song before, or if they had then they couldn't remember it.

"Oh the waves roll low,

And the waves roll high and it goes

Under a bright blue endless sky

Waves try to measure

Days that we treasure

Wave hello, and wave goodbye

Do you remember, please tell me dear

The way that it was when there was no fear

Bright eyed and hopeful, it's been a while

What I would give just to see you smile

And the waves roll low,

And the waves roll high and it goes

Under a bright blue endless sky

Waves try to measure

Days that we treasure

Wave hello, and wave goodbye

Memories fade, yet still stay the same

You might forget, but in me they remain

Though you're here with me, you can't seem to hear

My cries for the you that I held so dear

Still the waves roll low,

And the waves roll high and it goes

Under a bright blue endless sky

Waves try to measure

Days that we treasure

Wave hello, and wave goodbye"

The girls all listened intently to Sakura as she sang. Some of them were even brought to tears, the song was still as beautiful as the last time they heard it. When Sakura finished, they all clapped for her.

Sakura smiled at the eight young mermaids. She truly loved the song that she and her friend had written together. "Alright girls, it's time for bed now."

The girls all nodded and said goodnight to Sakura before they went back to where their makeshift beds were and made themselves comfortable for the night. Most of them fell asleep right, away but others like Karen stayed awake thinking about the lyrics of Sakura's song and what they truly meant. She thought about the song until she finally did fall asleep. While she slept, she had dreams about a box playing her mother's song.

When the girls woke up in the morning, they were all rather sad for the fact that they would have to say goodbye. They all gathered near the front gate to say their final farewells. Seiru, who still wasn't feeling any better, sat in the back of the chariot while the others passed around hugs.

Karen said goodbye to all of her cousins and gave them each a hug. She then said goodbye to her Uncle and joined her family in the seashell chariot. As the chariot headed off, Karen waved to her relatives until they were no longer in sight.

On the way back, Seiru couldn't help but think about Renae. He wondered where she was and how she was doing. He still hadn't completely sorted out his feelings yet, but he wondered how Renae felt towards him. Did she think of hims as a brother, just as he'd always thought of her as a sister? Or was there a chance that she saw him as more? He knew such thoughts were pointless, considering Renae probably wasn't even in Akua anymore, but he couldn't help but wonder.

As the royal family traveled back to Akua, Renae continued her journey to find her parents. She was still within the boundaries of Akua, figuring it would be best to check around there first. She hadn't found any clues though, and started to wonder if she should go to another ocean soon. As she swam, Renae thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. When she turned around to check though, there was nothing there. She decided to swim a bit more, but she saw the same shadow. Was someone following her? She decided to swim behind some rocks and wait for whoever it was to swim past.

As Renae hid behind the rocks watching in secret, she saw Yari swim past. But when Yari noticed Renae had vanished, he stopped and starting to look around for her. He swam closer and closer to the rocks Renae was hiding behind, and when he got to them he started to search around them for her.

Renae swam out from her hiding place when she realized Yari had been the one following her. "What are you doing here?"

Yari was startled when Renae appeared in front of him so suddenly, but he quickly gained back his composure, and just smiled at her. "I was worried, I wanted to find you and help you with your journey."

Renae frowned at Yari. Why did he follow her after she told him not to? "I thought I told you that you didn't have to do that? I may not look like it, but I can take care of myself. Besides, why would you go out of your way like this for someone you just met?"

Yari blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head nervously. He had to tell her now or he might never get the chance ever again. "Because Renae-San, I really like you. I know we just met, but I just get this feeling that with a little more time I could find myself in love with you."

Renae gasped and her eyes widened at Yari's words. "Yari-San..." She didn't want to be rude, but at the same time she had to give him an answer. It wouldn't be right to lead him on after all. "I'm sorry Yari-San, but I can't return those feelings. I think you're really nice and all, but I think it's best if we just be friends."

At Renae's words Yari felt something snap inside. He felt wounded and broken. But he didn't say a word he just simply swam past Renae, heading in the direction he had come from. He didn't even stop to look back he just kept swimming and soon Renae couldn't even see him anymore.

Renae felt bad, but she knew she had to say it. If she hadn't, Yari would have just kept following her and his feelings would grow. Feelings that she wouldn't be able to return as long as her heart belonged to Seiru. Still, she hopped he would be alright. She then decided to keep swimming and continue her search.

As Renae continued her search the royal family had returned to Akua. During the long trip back Seiru had finally fallen asleep and Karen had spent it thinking about all that had happened in Atlantica. She wondered if she could find a chance to slip away and see if her tail would transform into legs again. She knew it was risky, but she had to give it a chance. She needed to know if it was a one time thing or if it was something more. When the seashell chariot came to a stop Karen was wrestled free from her thoughts and Seiru was jostled awake.

Seiru yawned and realized they had finally made it home. He felt his mother's hand on his forehead and she frowned. "It seems you still have a fever. You go ahead and rest in your room, and I'll have the doctor come to check on you." Seiru nodded and swam off to his room. He hated the way his mother treated him like a baby, but he knew better than to complain.

At the same time Seiru headed to his room, Karen went to check on Hanna. She hadn't seen her friend since the incident with her being under a spell had ended. When she reached Hanna's room she was pleasantly surprised to find Riku was there as well. "Hello Hanna-San."

Hanna smiled when she saw her friend. "Princess Karen, hi there."

Karen returned the smile and swam over to the edge of Hanna's bed. "I just wanted to check in on you. I hope you're feeling better."

Hanna nodded to let Karen know she was okay. "I am, thanks. I'm surprised to see you home so early though."

Karen let out a small sad sigh, she hadn't wanted to leave but it was best for Seiru's health. "Sei Onii-Chan fell ill so our parents thought it would be best if we came home early."

Hanna was shocked to hear about Seiru's health an hoped he was alright. She then looked at Riku and could tell he was worried. Seiru was his best friend after all, so of course he would worry. Hanna then took his hand in hers. "Riku, maybe you should go to see him. You're worried, aren't you?"

Riku was indeed worried over Seiru's health, but he was a little wary of leaving Hanna's side. "Are you sure? I don't mind waiting and seeing him later."

Hanna gave Riku a reassuring smile and pushed him away. "Go on now, I'll be fine. I'll be right here when you get back, so go." Riku let out a sigh and lingered near the door for a moment not sure if he should leave or not, but then Hanna gave him a stern look and he finally swam out of her room.

When Riku reached Seiru's room, he saw Sakura and the doctor were just leaving. Sakura smiled when she saw Riku. "Oh, hello Riku-Kun. Did you come to see Seiru?"

Riku bowed when he saw Sakura and nodded when she asked him if he was coming to see Seiru. He had been wondering about his friends condition during the whole swim to his room, and he wanted to know how he was doing as soon as possible. So he politely asked Sakura and the doctor how Seiru was feeling, and if he would be better any time soon.

The doctor told Riku that Seiru just needed a little medicine and some rest. He then told Riku that he was free to visit Seiru and talk to him as long as he made sure Seiru stayed in bed.

Riku thanked the doctor and told him he certainly would make sure Seiru stayed in bed. He then bowed to Sakura again and swam ahead into Seiru's room. When he saw his friend, relief washed over him as he saw that the other merman wasn't in any critical condition.

Seiru noticed Riku swim in and sat up. "Oh, hey Riku-Kun. I guess you heard we were back. How's Hanna-San?" Seiru tried to make it look like he was alright, but Riku already knew better.

"She is fine, she's been doing much better ever since she was freed from the spell she was under. But I'm not here to talk about Hanna, I'm here to check up on you. I just talked to the doctor about you."

Seiru found himself breaking eye contact with Riku. "Oh... so you heard about that." He hadn't wanted to make his friend worry about him.

"Yes I heard about that. Princess Karen came to see Hanna and told us both about how you were doing, I don't what stupid thing you did this time to make yourself so sick, but I do hope you recover quickly."

Seiru chuckled slightly when Riku basicaly called him stupid. "Hey, I can't be that stupid, can I? After all, they say idiots don't get sick. But you know, it's been a long time since you talked to me like that."

Riku lauhged whole heartily at Seiru's response and smile at his best friend with a new found peace. "You may not be that stupid Prince but you are still stupid. Take better care of yourself or people won't stop treating you like a baby."

Seiru twinged, but not because Riku was lecturing him. "There you go again, you keep calling me 'Prince'. I liked it better when we were kids and you would just call me 'Seiru-Kun'."

Riku sighed and shook his head. He knew things were simpler when they were children, but back then he didn't know Seiru's position. Now that he did, he wasn't going to go against his own station in live and be so informal to the person he had made an oath to protect. "I am a guard Prince Seiru, it is my duty to protect you and your family. It is true that you are my best friend, but you are also my Prince and someone I have sworn to protect. That being so I will not address you in a way that goes against my oath."

Seiru crossed his arms and looked away from Riku. "Fine, then I won't let you protect me anymore until you stop using that title."

Riku held back the annoyance he felt at those words and kept a calm demeanor, not once letting how he truly felt show. "You really are an idiot Seiru-Kun. You always have been, and always will be."

Seiru grinned at Riku. "Maybe so, but I still got you to drop that dumb tittle." Seiru was about to say more, but he was interrupted when he started coughing again. The smile on his face then turned into a frown. He really hated being sick.

"I should let you get some more rest, I'll come back again later Seiru-Kun. Sleep well."

"Hey wait, before you go I need to ask you something." When Riku looked back at him, Seiru started to feel a little awkward about his question. "I know this is kind of a strange thing to ask, but how did you realize you were in love with Hanna-San?"

Riku was a bit confused about the question, but answered anyway. "I suppose it happened gradually, but I think they day I truly figured it out was the day the princess took her for a makeover. She was so stunning that day. That was the day I truly noticed how beautiful she is."

Seiru sighed and laid back down on the bed. That really didn't help much. "And that's it then?" Seiru sighed again, still no closer to figuring out his feelings for Renae. "Sorry, I know that was kinda random."

"It's fine, but I really should leave now. You need your rest." As Riku was about to swim towards the door once more, he was shocked to see the door burst into pieces as a shark came ramming through. Seiru bolted out of bed and just nearly missed the shark's teeth as it took a bite out of the bed.

Riku quickly grabbed the nearest object and swam in front of Seiru, putting himself into a ready stance just in case the shark tried a second time to eat his prince. He just hoped that the shark would be disoriented after ramming its self right into a wall and leave him an opening to attack and get it away from the younger merman.

Seiru started to feel dizzy from moving so fast and had to prop himself up against the wall. Of all the times for a shark attack, why now? "How did a shark get in here?"

The shark looked at Riku and saw Seiru behind him. "Oh good, looks like I get two for the price of one." The shark then charged at Riku and snapped the stand-in weapon in half.

Riku did the only thing he could think of, which was grabbing something and shoving it into the sharks mouth so that it would be stuck open. After doing that, he grabbed Seiru and swam out of the room as fast as he could.

The shark easily chomped down on the object and swam after Seiru and Riku. It didn't take long for them to catch up to them and opened it's mouth wide as it got closer and closer to Seiru's fins. It suddenly stopped however, when Hanna grabbed it's tail from behind and threw it into a nearby pillar. "I don't know how you got in here, but you're about to wish you hadn't!" Hanna then whipped her tail around and slammed the shark into the sea floor. Realizing it was outnumbered and outmatched, the shark swam away as fast as it could.

Riku quickly swam over to Hanna, pulled her into a strong embrace and placed a kiss to her check. "You are the most amazing mermaid in all the oceans Hanna, I can't thank you enough for saving us."

Hanna cupped Riku's cheek in her hand. "Of course, I told you I would protect you. Are you alright?"

Before Riku could answer, they heard Seiru coughing behind them and noticed he was looking rather pale. Unable to keep himself afloat anymore, Seiru sank to the sea floor about ready to pass out. Riku and Hanna both quickly swam over to Seiru and picked him up carefully, and together they brought him to one of the empty guest rooms.

Hanna left Seiru in Riku's care and swam as fast as she could to get the doctor. When they returned, he examined Seiru and gave him some medicine. Hanna glared out into the hallway thinking about what had just happened. "How the heck did a shark get in here anyway? Darn it, I just had a talk with those guys about being more vigilant too. To think they'd let a full size shark slip passed them."

Riku was wondering that to, it was strange that the guards wouldn't notice a creature that large swimming near the palace. It was also strange that they would let it get past them. It wasn't like the other guards to be so lack luster when it came to security. Something was going on, and Riku was going to find out what.


	15. Chapter 15

Renae had combed every inch of Akua, but she still hadn't found a single clue about her parents. She considered going to another ocean next. Maybe she should go to Atlantica? Then she remembered that Karen and her family were in Atlantica, and didn't want to risk swimming into her or Seiru. "I think the next closest would be Arcticana, maybe I should go there next?"

As Renae considered her next course of action, she noticed Ketsueki in the distance. She still felt bad about what happened with Yari, so she decided to follow him so she could make sure Yari was alright. She saw Ketsueki swim into a large cavern and followed him over. She was about to go in, but stopped when she heard a loud pounding noise. When she looked inside, she saw Yari was hitting a seafoam padding against the wall.

Ketsueki swam over to Yari, making sure to keep out of Yari's immediate reach. "Well Nii-San, I've got good news, and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Yari stopped hitting the seafoam padding and turned to look at his younger brother, an angry look on his face and a dark fire in his eyes. "Give me the bad news and then the good news."

Ketsueki braced himself as he told Yari the bad news. "Well, the bad news is that the shark we sent to kill the prince was defeated by the guards." Renae gasped when she heard what Ketsueki had just said. They seemed so nice before, why would they do such a horrible thing? Ketsueki hurried to tell Yari the good news before his brother lost his temper. "But there's good news too. He said the Prince was sick, and I've already put out a new plan. I found the medicine he's been taking and slipped some puffer fish poison in it. They should be giving it to him pretty soon now."

As Yari heard his brother's news a dark smirk appeared across his face. This was perfect news, soon very soon Yari was going to get everything he wanted. "Good job Ketsueki, good job."

Renae couldn't believe what she had just heard, but she had no time to doubt her ears. Renae swam back to the palace as fast as she could, praying she wouldn't be too late

Seiru groaned as Sakura swam into his room for what he figured had to be the tenth time that day. "Mother, I told you I'm fine."

Sakura gave Seiru a stern look. "I'll believe you're fine when I hear about it from the doctor." Before Sakura could say any more, the doctor came in and bowed to her. He told her it was time for Seiru's medicine and she swam out of the way to let him through. After giving Seiru his medicine, the doctor bowed to Sakura again and left. Seiru was about to urge her to stop worrying until he saw Karen swim in behind her.

Karen swam in slowly and stopped when she reached the edge of Seiru's bed. As she looked at her brother, a worried look began to appear on her face. It looked like Seiru was even paler then the last time she had seen him. "Sei Onii-Chan, I heard about the shark attack are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I was just a little dizzy from swimming around so much." Just as he had said that though, Seiru started to feel strange. He felt a strong pain in his chest and found himself unable to keep from moaning.

Sakura's worrying started to reach new depths as she saw what little color was left draining from Seiru's face. "Seiru, what's wrong?" Sakura swam over to check on him and noticed he was quickly getting worse. "Karen, go get the doctor and hurry!"

At her mother's word, Karen swam out of the room as quickly as possible. She swam down the halls at a break neck speed, and didn't stop until she reached the doctors room. She quickly told him that Seiru's condition was worsening and together they swam back to his room so the doctor could examine him once again.

The doctor quickly swam over to Seiru, but couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong. "I don't understand, he shouldn't be reacting this way."

As the doctor desperately tried to figure out how to help Seiru, they all heard Renae's voice calling to them from the other end of the hall. She swam to them as fast as she could, and had to catch her breath when she reached them. "Stop! Don't give him any of that medicine!"

Karen was shocked by Renae's sudden arrival but also confused by her words. "Renae-Chan what are you talking about? The doctor already gave Sei Onii-Chan his medicine."

"I overheard Yari-San and Ketsueki-San talking. They said Prince Seiru was sick and they slipped puffer fish poison into his medicine."

The doctor assured them he had an antidote and swam as fast as he could to get it. He came back a few moments later and got Seiru to take the antidote. After a few more minutes, the antidote took effect and Seiru passed out. The doctor examined him again and was able to confirm that the danger had passed.

Karen was relieved when the doctor told them that Seiru was going to be okay, and that his life was no longer in danger. But she was also shocked, the two men that they had met during their search for Renae seemed so kind, she couldn't believe that they would try to kill her brother.

Renae was also confused by the krahsian brothers' actions. "I don't understand why they would do this. They said they also sent a shark after him before, but it was driven off by the guards."

Sakura and Karen both gasped at what Renae said. Sakura looked back at Seiru for a moment, then turned to leave. "They won't get away with this." Sakura then swam out to find Syaoran.

Renae watched Seiru for a moment as he slept. She had been so scared she wouldn't make it in time to save him. But still, she had to leave before she could convince herself to stay. Renae then turned to Karen to say goodbye. "Well, I should be going then. I only came back to warn you, but I still have a long journey ahead."

Karen simply nodded at her friend. It was good to see her again, but she knew Renae wouldn't truly come back till she had the answers she was searching for. "Thank you for saving Sei Onii-Chan. If it wasn't for you Renae-Chan, we would have lost him forever."

"I couldn't just do nothing after all." Renae said goodbye to her friend and left. As Renae swam away from the palace, she couldn't help thinking the attacks on Seiru were partially her fault. She decided to confront the krahsian brothers before heading off to Arcticana. Renae swam back to their cavern and barged right in, making sure not to let her nerves get the best of her. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Yari and Ketsueki were both shocked by Renae's sudden appearance in their home, but were even more shocked by her words. They didn't know how she found out their plan, but Yari decided to play none the wiser and innocent. "What on earth are you talking about Renae-San?"

Renae continued to yell at them. "I know what you tried to do. You sent that shark after Prince Seiru, and you also tried to poison him! I don't understand why you would do something like that. You said you didn't let your sharks go after merpeople, so why?!"

Yari turned to his brother a smirk on his face and sent a silent signal to him by just nodding. The next thing Renae knew she was being pinned to a rock wall by Ketsueki and Yari was looming over her with a dark fire burning in his eyes. "That prince of yours was preventing me from getting what I want and he has to be eliminated. This time so you won't swim away and save him. My brother and I are going to keep you here. You won't get away from us, and our plans won't fail this time."

Renae struggled to get away, but Ketsueki was far stronger than her. She glared intensely at Yari as she spoke. "You won't get away with this. They already know what you're up to at the palace, and it won't take long before they find you!"

Yari let out a cold and emotionless laugh and smirked at Renae before putting his hand under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. "With you as a prisoner, those idiots from the palace won't do anything to us."

Renae tried to look away, but Yari grabbed hold of her chin and forced her retain eye contact with him. Renae glared at him, she'd never felt so much hatred for one person before.

Ketsueki turned his head to face his brother. "Nii-San, we should tie her up so she can't swim away."

"Good idea, I'll keep an eye on her well you get the rope."

Ketsueki handed Renae off to Yari and went to find some rope. Renae continued to struggle, but once again found herself no match for Yari's strength. "Let go of me! I don't understand why you're doing this."

Yari grinned wickedly at Renae and whispered into her ear in a deep and predatory tone. "You will soon."

Tears started to form in Renae's eyes as she tried to cling onto what little hope she had. When Ketsueki came back, he tied her hands behind her back, and then tied her bound hands to the end of her tail. She could still keep herself afloat, but swimming away was another story.

Hanna led a group of guards towards the krahsian brothers' cavern. They had been told prior that a pair of strange looking mermen were around there, and figured it had to be them. Hanna led the other mermen inside and was shocked to see that Renae had been taken prisoner. One of the guards was about to swim over to help her, but Hanna stopped him. "Let Renae-Chan go right now."

"Do you really think we are just going to hand her over to you? We aren't stupid. She is ours now and if you don't let us go we can't promise that she'll stay unharmed."

Hanna glared at Yari and clenched her fist. She hated to just let them go, but Renae's safety was at risk. One of the guards asked her what to do, and she responded in a cold whisper. "These two tried to kill Prince Seiru. There's no telling what they'll do to Renae-San if we don't comply. We don't have a choice, we can't risk her safety." Hanna reluctantly told the other mermen to let the krahsian brothers pass.

Yari smirked triumphantly at Hanna for a few seconds but then grabbed Renae and swam out of the cavern with Ketsueki. The two swam towards a canyon well dragging Renae. When they reached the canyon, Renae was shocked to realize it was the same canyon from when Seiru had saved her from being attacked by a shark.

Ketsueki lead them to a cave just at the edge of the canyon. "They wouldn't dare come to a place with so many sharks around. We should be able to come up with another plan here."

Yari nodded and roughly shoved Renae into the cave. "You are trapped here, and if anyone tries to come after you they'll be eaten by these sharks."

Renae struggled against the seaweed ropes that bound her hands and tail. She couldn't believe she had let herself get captured. She still couldn't understand why they were trying to kill Seiru. "What did Prince Seiru ever do to you anyway? What could he have possibly done to deserve any of this?!"

Yari glared down at Renae a grimace plastered to his face. "He stole your heart. He stole what should belong to me."

Renae gasped at Yari's words. All this because she had turned him down? "You're wrong; Prince Seiru and I aren't like that. We're just good friends."

"I'm not a fool, I saw the tension between you two. I know you would do anything for him. I know when someone is in love, and you are. But why you are in love with that idiot is what confuses me."

Renae glared intensely at Yari. "Prince Seiru is not an idiot. If anything, you're the idiot for thinking I could ever love a monster like you!"

Yari simply smirked a let out a cold laugh as a response to Renae's words. "We'll see about that little mermaid we'll see."


	16. Chapter 16

Seiru swam through the corridors of the palace looking for Riku. He had finally gotten over his cold and gotten the all clear from the palace doctor, and so now it was time to go after Renae. He heard that she had been captured by Yari and Ketsueki a few days prior, and he was very worried about her. He knew his father would never let him join the search, but at the same time he didn't care. Deep inside he knew he had to go after her, but he couldn't fight the two krahsians alone. So he kept swimming until he found Riku.

Riku was busy getting ready to head out with the search party when Seiru found him, so he didn't notice the other merman at first. But when he did he let out a sigh and frowned at his friend, already knowing what he was planning. "Seiru-Kun, you are becoming as bad as your sister is when it comes to obeying O-Sama's orders."

"Can I talk to you alone Riku-Kun?" Seiru took Riku to a spot where he was sure he wouldn't be overheard. "I need you to come with me Riku-Kun."

"Hanna will be suspicious if I'm not with the search party Seiru-Kun. I have to be there. If I'm not, someone will be sent to find me."

Seiru told Riku to leave that part to him, and he quickly swam off to talk to Hanna. When he came back, he he had a suspicious smirk on his face. "There, I told her I needed to stretch my fins a bit after being stuck in bed for so long, and that you're coming with me in case anything happens."

Riku let out a sigh, his best friend really was becoming as bad as his sister. But Riku knew there was no talking Seiru out of this so he just nodded and swam off with him.

Seiru thought about some of the most likely hiding places they could have gone, and remembered the shark infested canyon. "Those two are half shark, and the sharks seem to listen to them. I'll bet you anything that's where they are."

"But how could we even get close to the canyon? If the sharks listen to them, then they are probably using them to keep watch. The sharks would try to eat us if we got too close."

Seiru knew Riku had a point, but he also figured the guards would avoid that area for the same reason. "We'll just have to make sure not to be seen. Besides, we can handle a couple of sharks. It's the only place the other guards wouldn't go to search, we have to at least check."

Riku knew Seiru was right, but he was still a little wary of the canyon. After all, who knew what else other than sharks could be down there. "We are going to have to be really careful not to be seen or heard."

Seiru nodded as they approached the canyon. They decided to search just around the perimeter first so they could make a quick getaway if need be. After a while of searching, Seiru though he'd heard Renae's voice coming from a cave nearby.

Renae kept struggling against the ropes binding her hands, but she couldn't seem to get them to loosen. "Please listen to me, you don't have to do this." Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt Yari's arms wrap around her.

Yari tightened his hold on Renae and smiled menacingly down at her. "That is where you are wrong. I do have to do this, or else you'll never be mine."

Seiru gritted his teeth when he saw them. He just had to save Renae, and quick. He then picked up a rock and threw it into the distance.

Ketsueki heard the sound of the rock and became suspicious. "Did you hear that Nii-San? I'm going to go check and see what that was." Seiru and Riku hid as Ketsueki then swam off in the opposite direction.

Once the two were sure Ketsueki was gone, Riku swam into the cave and quickly got Yari's attention. For a few moments Riku simply taunted and riled up Yari, and then when he was sure Yari wasn't thinking straight anymore he quickly swam out of the cave; and just like Seiru had planned Yari chased after him.

Renae had been utterly confused by what had just happened, but felt so relieved when she saw Seiru swimming towards her. "Prince Seiru, you're alright!" She was glad to see how much better he looked than the last time she'd seen him, back when Ketsueki had tried to poison him.

Seiru untied the seaweed ropes and helped her up. "I'm fine, but what about you? They didn't hurt you did they?" Renae shook her head to let him know she was fine. "Come on, let's get you out of here before they come back."

As the two swam out of the cave, Ketsueki saw what was happening and quickly called to his brother. "Nii-San, they're getting away!" As Yari swam after Seiru and Renae, Ketsueki cut Riku off to prevent him from following them.

Riku simply rolled his eyes at the krahsian boy and hit him with his tail, causing him to go flying into a rock. "I'm an Akuanian guard. I have years of training, you really shouldn't have even thought about fighting me."

As Riku was about to say more, Ketsueki rammed into him with tremendous force. "Even with your training, krahsian's are far stronger than merpeople. Besides which, you're not the only one who trains themselves."

Riku quickly threw Ketsueki off of him and into another rock. He was hoping if he kept throwing him into the sharp rocks he would become injured and unable to fight. "Don't you dare underestimate me you little brat!"

As Riku fought with Ketsueki, Seiru and Renae continued to swim away from Yari. As fast as they could swim, Yari seemed to be faster still and soon was able to catch up to them. "Did you really think it would be that easy to take her from me? Well you thought wrong Prince, and now I'll finally get rid of you with my own two hands!"

Seiru took a defensive stance in front of Renae. "I don't know what you want with Renae-Chan, and I don't care. I won't let you take her again."

Yari didn't say anything in response. Before Seiru could say anything else, Yari charged at him and forced him up against the wall of the canyon. "You are going to die, and no one will save you this time."

Seiru pushed Yari off with his tail and punched him in the face. "Sorry, but that's not happening!" Renae watched in horror as the two fought it out.

Yari quickly grabbed Seiru's fins and sent him flying into the other wall of the canyon. "You aren't nearly as strong as me you little sea slug."

Seiru tried to pick himself up, but Yari slammed his tail down on top of him. Renae swam over and tried to pull Yari off of Seiru. "Leave him alone!"

Yari easily freed himself from Renae's hold and went back to hitting Seiru with his tail and fists. "You are going to die! You are going to die the most painful and drawn out death ever!"

"STOP IT!" Renae tried again to pull Yari off of Seiru, but this time he shoved her away with great force. As Renae went flying through the water, she hit a rock awkwardly with her tail. She heard something snap and screamed in pain.

Seiru heard Renae's scream and became worried. "Renae-Chan!" He wanted to go and make sure she was alright, but Yari wasn't about to let him.

Yari ignored Renae's screams and continued to attack Seiru with great force, anger fueling him. "You'll be dead soon, so don't spend your last few moments worrying about someone else."

As Yari continued to beat him, Seiru felt his consciousness slowly beginning to fade. Renae's cries grew louder and louder as she begged Yari to stop. "Please, don't do it! Don't kill him, please! Prince Seiru!" She tried to swim over to them, but found she couldn't move her fins. Still, she had to do something to stop Yari and wound up crawling along the sea floor. The pain in her tail was immeasurable, but it meant nothing to her if there was a chance to save the prince.

Yari ignored Renae's pleas and continued to beat Seiru, watching in glory as he saw the prince's consciousnesses slipping. He continued to attack Seiru, and as he threw him into rocks and the canyon walls he noticed the water turning red.

Renae continued to craw until she reached the two of them. Unable to think of anything else, Renae threw herself over Seiru to try and protect him from Yari. "Please stop it!"

Yari easily picked Renae up and threw her off Seiru. "Don't get in my way." He then swam closer to the now unconscious merman, and was about to give him the finishing blow when he thought he heard voices.

Hanna swam in their direction with a small group of guards. They had heard Renae's screaming and made a beeline for the canyon.

Yari saw the guards and Hanna and decided it was time to leave. He wasn't going to let himself get caught so easily. "Ketsueki forget about that useless merman we are leaving NOW!"

Ketsueki smacked Riku to the side with his tail and swam over to his brother. Together the two fled from the canyon, leaving behind the injured merfolk without a second thought.

Riku watched as they fled, unable to do anything due to the many bruises, and scratches he had received. He even thought his left arm might be broken.

"Riku!" While the other guards saw to Seiru and Renae, Hanna swam over to Riku to make sure he was alright.

Riku grew nervous when he saw Hanna swimming towards him. He didn't want her to worry about him, but the pain in his arm was growing harder and harder to ignore. It was like it had been covered with boiling hot water. "Hanna, I..."

Believing Riku to be fine save a few cuts and bruises, Hanna started to yell at him. "You idiot, what were you thinking?! You knew those two were after the Prince, and yet you let him come here? What were you thinking, you both could have been killed!" Tears began to well up in Hanna's eyes as she continued. "What would you have done if either of you died?"

Riku wanted to pull Hanna into a hug to help her calm down, but the pain in his arm was too great. He could barely move it without feeling a sharp shooting pain go through it. "Hanna... I'm sorry. If I hadn't gone with him he would have come here on his own."

As Hanna was about to yell at Riku more, Heiji swam up to try and lighten the situation. "Aw, don't be too hard on him Hanna-Chan. Besides which, he's right. If Riku-Chan hadn't been here, those two would have ganged up on Prince Seiru. See what a good job he did?"

As Heiji said this, he playfully slapped Riku on the shoulder, causing him to release a scream of sheer pain. He quickly clutched his left arm with his right and grimaced as the pain decreased slightly.

"Riku!" Realizing his arm was broken, Hanna's worrying increased dramatically. She then slapped him on the right shoulder, and he groaned as she continued to scold him. "You idiot, why didn't you tell us your arm was broken? We need to get you back to the palace as soon as possible to get that looked at."

"I didn't want you to worry about me. I'm fine though, it isn't too bad."

Hanna was about to smack him again, but pulled her hand back. She didn't want to hit him too hard and hurt him even worse than he already was. "You are not fine, and I won't have you trying to pretend you are."

Riku stayed silent and simply nodded, but he didn't look at Hanna when he did. He was so disappointed in himself that he couldn't look at her, so he kept his eyes firmly on the sea floor. "Let's just go back to the palace."

As Hanna and the other guards took the three of them back to the palace, Yari and Ketsueki swam deeper into the canyon to where the guards wouldn't follow them. Ketsueki massaged his back that had been torn up from the many times Riku had thrown him into the rocks. "Damn that black tailed merman, he really messed my back up."

"Don't worry, soon we'll be rid of both of them. Soon, very soon brother. Soon everything will be just the way we planned." Yari grinned to himself, a thought crossing his mind.

Ketsueki eyed Yari questioningly. "You sound like you already have a plan Nii-San."

Yari simply smiled knowingly at his brother and nodded. "I do. Just wait and see brother everything will soon work in our favor."

"You're not gonna forget about that cute princess though, right?"

Yari closed his eyes mindfully, still smiling. "Of course not little brother, of course not."

Ketsueki grinned as Yari began laughing maniacally. The two then swam off together to begin execution of their new plan. A plan which could only spell trouble for anyone else involved.


	17. Chapter 17

Seiru laid in bed as Syaoran yelled at him. Not only had he left the palace without permission, but he'd gone to find Renae whom had been captured by the two krahsians that were trying to kill him. He probably would have been if Hanna and some of the palace guards hadn't shown up. He'd even dragged Riku into it too, who wound up with a broken arm. Still, Seiru felt that being beaten to near death and yelled at by his father had all been worth it. After all, he'd managed to save his dear friend Renae. Her tail had been severely broken trying to protect him, but she was now safe within the palace walls. Not only that, but the whole experience had made him realize something important.

After lecturing his son for a good half hour, Syaoran swam out of the room to let him rest. He may have been angry at Seiru for swimming off so irresponsibly, but he was also worried for his injuries and knew he needed to rest. Besides which, there was still the matter of the two krahsians to deal with.

As Renae shifted in her bed, the spot where her tail was broken throbbed angrily. The palace doctor had given her some medicine to help with the pain, but it didn't do much. As she wished her tail would hurry up and heal, she saw the door open and Karen swam inside.

Karen swam slowly into the room, and for a moment she just floated near the door, not knowing whether to go inside or not. After a few seconds she swam into the room and over to Renae's bed. "Renae-Chan, I heard about what happened, are you going to be okay?"

Renae nodded her friend. "I think so, although it seems I won't be swimming around for a while."

"Don't worry, the doctor will have your tail fixed in no time. Soon you'll be swimming better than before."

Renae's smile faded as her tail started to throb again. She didn't want to make Karen worry, but her expression made the pain obvious.

Karen became instantly worried about Renae and swam out of her room in search of the doctor. When she found him, she told him Renae was in pain and then she lead him back to Renae's room so he could examine her.

"It's not too surprising that you're still feeling pain with how bad the break is. I'll get you some more pain medicine in a bit, but the best thing you can do is to keep from moving it." Renae nodded in understanding and the doctor left.

Karen smiled sadly at her friend. She wished she could do something to help Renae, but the only person who could help her was the doctor. So Karen had to just float by and watch her best friend endure horrible pain and it broke her heart. "Soon Renae-Chan, the people who did this to you will be caught and locked up forever."

Renae frowned as she thought about the incident. She couldn't help thinking it was all her fault. Yari had been after her from the beginning, and Seiru and Riku had gotten hurt trying to save her. "Karen-Chan, are Riku-Kun and Prince Seiru alright?"

"Riku-Kun's left arm was broken and Sei Onii-Chan lost some blood. But the doctor has informed us that they will both be fine, and their injuries will heal perfectly. A few scars will be left but other than that they will be fit as fish."

Renae was relieved to hear that they were alright. "Thank goodness, I was worried."

Karen nodded knowing just how Renae felt, Until she had seen both her brother and Riku she had been worried sick. "They are fine and resting, which is what I should be letting you do right now."

Renae smiled at her friend to reassure her that she would be alright. "Don't worry I can't really do anything but rest right now."

"You've been through a lot Renae-Chan, you should at least try to get some sleep. I'll come by again later." Karen then bowed to her friend slightly and swam out of her room and down the palace halls, with no real destination in mind.

Seiru sat in bed and stretched. He was still pretty sore from the fight with Yari. He still didn't understand what Yari would want with Renae, but he knew he'd have to get stronger. He was no match for the krahsian as he was now, but he needed to be able to protect Renae.

As Seiru muddled over these thoughts, Riku swam into the room and coughed to make his presence known to the other merman. "Hey Seiru-Kun."

"Hey Riku-Kun. How's your arm?"

"It's fine the doctor gave me some medicine to dull the pain."

"That's good." Seiru then thanked Riku. "Sorry if you got in trouble because of it, but I'm really glad you came with me."

"I'm glad I could help you get Renae-Chan back. I may have been suspended, but it gives my arm time to heal."

"Father's pretty mad at me. He was in here yelling at me earlier. Although, technically he didn't tell me no since I didn't ask." Seiru smiled thinking about it.

Riku rolled his eyes at his friend but chuckled at the loop hole he had found. "This is so strange. It's like you and Princess Karen switched places."

Seiru rolled his eyes. "Oh great, she's rubbing off on me."

"It is weird seeing her being the good one."

"Give her a few days."

Riku knew Seiru was right, and soon Karen would do something to get herself into trouble. Yet, he couldn't help laughing. It was so strange, yet hilarious to think of Karen as the good child.

Hearing Riku laugh made Seiru smile. Things had been so stressful lately, so it was nice to have a little peace.

Riku smiled at his friend, it was good to have this moment of calm and joy. Everything had been so tense and sad lately that just a tiny bit of happiness was a huge relief.

Seiru's smile soon faded, as he once again thought about Renae. "Hey Riku-Kun can I ask you something serious?"

"Of course, what is on your mind?"

Seiru once again felt awkward talking to Riku about it, but he was the only one Seiru felt comfortable talking to. It's this thing my cousin Aquata said to me back when we were in Atlantica. She said I might be in love with Renae-Chan."

Riku became silent and a very solemn look appeared on his face. For a moment he stayed quiet as if thinking deeply on what Seiru had said, but then he nodded. "I think your cousin may be right."

Seiru nodded. "I didn't believe her at first, but when Renae-Chan was captured by those two I felt like I had to do everything I could to get her back. I knew Father wouldn't approve, and I didn't care. The only thing that mattered to me was getting her back where it was safe."

"I know Renae-Chan cares about you just as much as you care about her. When you are fully recovered, you should go see her. I'm sure that would make her happy."

"Do you really think she feels the same?" Seiru was now sure of his feelings, but Renae's was another story. "Well regardless, I do plan on telling her. As soon as I'm allowed to leave this room, I plan on going to see her."

"I'm sure she feels the same Seiru-Kun, you'll make her the happiest mermaid under the sea when you tell her."

"I hope so." Seiru had made up his mind. He had to know for sure how Renae felt. He was going to tell her the first chance he had, and hoped she would stay in Akua even after her tail was healed. At the very least, he figured she would take longer to heal than him. He just hoped she would be able to return his feelings.


	18. Chapter 18

Seiru had finally recovered enough to swim around and leave his room, and made sure the first place he went was to see Renae. He had to tell her his feelings for her while he had the chance. He made sure to knock before entering, but was disappointed to see that Karen was in there with her.

Karen looked up when she heard the knock on the door and smiled when she saw Seiru. She was glad he was okay and that his injuries had healed quickly.

"Hey Karen, I need to talk to Renae-Chan about something. Can you leave us alone for a minute?"

Karen had a feeling she knew what Seiru wanted to talk to Renae about, so without any complaints she swam out of the room and closed the door. She didn't swim away from the room since she wanted to hear what was being said, so she very quietly leaned against the door and kept as still as possible.

Renae had hoped to avoid seeing Seiru, but she'd also known it was only a matter of time before he came to visit her. She became nervous when he'd said he wanted to talk to her alone. Renae suddenly became worried that he'd figured out she had feelings for him and came to turn her down. Thinking that made her want to swim away, but she couldn't with her injured tail.

Seiru had a serious look on his face as he spoke. "There's something I need to tell you Renae-Chan. You see, I've come to realize something lately, and well..." Seiru could feel his face growing red as he spoke, but he couldn't let his nerves get the better of him. "I'm not really sure how to say this, so I guess I'll just say it. Renae-Chan... I need to tell you that I love you."

Karen smiled and tried her hardest not to let out a squeal of joy. She had a feeling her dear older brother was in love with her best friend, and now that she knew her feeling was right she couldn't have been happier. But she made sure to not let Renae or Seiru know she was there, after all Renae hadn't responded yet and she didn't want to interrupt the moment.

As Seiru waited for Renae's answer, he was surprised to see that Renae was crying. His heart sank as he thought she might refuse his feelings for her. "What's wrong Renae-Chan? Why are you crying?"

Renae smiled as her tears flowed down her cheeks. For so long she had been afraid that Seiru couldn't love her back, and now here he was telling her he did. "Nothing's wrong, I'm crying because I'm happy. I love you too, I've loved you for a long time now. I was afraid because you always said how I was like a sister to you, and I thought that you wouldn't be able to love me back."

Seiru wiped away Renae's tears. "I do love you. I've just been too stupid up till now to realize it." Renae then shook her head and told Seiru he wasn't stupid at all.

Karen's smile grew at Renae's words. She was so happy for the pair, she knew they would make each other very happy. But at the same time she felt a little sorrow. Would she ever find a love as strong as the one between Seiru and Renae? Would she ever find the deep; powerful love shared by her parents? She hoped so, but she decided not to linger on these thoughts and instead think of all the wonderful days that Renae and Seiru would now be able to share.

Karen then decided to give the new couple some privacy and swam off through the corridors. As she swam, she noticed Hanna and Riku floating just up ahead. When Hanna saw Karen swimming towards them, she greeted her with a smile. "Hello Princess Karen."

Karen returned the smile and greeted the two with joy evident in her voice. She wanted to tell the two what she had heard, but she knew it wasn't for her to tell so she kept her mouth shut and simply asked Hanna and Riku how they were doing.

"Well, Riku's arm still hasn't healed yet, but other than that we're fine."

"That's great news, and I'm sure Riku-Kun's arm will be better in no time."

Hanna nodded in agreement. "I heard Prince Seiru is doing better."

Karen nodded and let out a small giggle, a smile spreading across her face. "He is doing much, much better."

Hanna wasn't sure what Karen was talking about, but decided it better not to ask. She then noticed that Riku had the same look on his face as Karen, and wondered what it could be about.

Karen nodded to the two other merpeople once more and then swam off down the hall of the palace. A smile on her lips the whole time. This was one of the best days ever. Her best friend and brother had found love and happiness and nothing except finding that herself could fill her with greater joy.

Hanna watched Karen leave in confusion. "What was that all about?"

Riku simply shrugged. He had a feeling he knew what it was about, but he didn't want say anything in case he was wrong. "I'm sure that the princess is just in a good mood."

"You know something, don't you?"

"I'm not sure if I know something or not. I have a hunch but I can't be certain it is right."

Realizing she wouldn't get any answers out of Riku, Hanna swam on ahead. She didn't like that no one would tell her what was going on.

Riku swam after Hanna and tried to explain what was going on to her, but he didn't know how to without giving her information that wasn't his to give. He wished he could tell her what he thought was going on but he knew he couldn't. He wanted to explain things to Hanna to stop her from being upset but he just didn't know how to without revealing other people's secrets and that fact seemed to upset her even more.

Hanna swam to the training room and started working out. She figured it was the best way to let off some steam.

As Riku tried to talk to Hanna, Karen swam through the halls of the palace. She had no real destination in mind so she just kept swimming past rooms. As she swam, she started thinking back on her time in Atlantica, and the day her tail had turned into a pair of legs. She wanted to know if it was a one time thing or not. She wanted to swim to the surface and find a dry area and see if it would happen again, but she knew she couldn't leave the palace and it frustrated her.

She hated being stuck inside for long periods of time. She wanted to be exploring and learning more about humans, and about the strange ability she might have. But with Yari and Ketsueki still at large, she knew it would be impossible to even attempt to leave the palace. So Karen just continued to aimlessly swim through the palace while her thoughts wandered to far off places.

As Karen swam, she noticed that there were more guards around than usual. She figured it was because of Yari and Ketsueki. Even if she felt like taking the risk, it would be next to impossible to sneak out without at least someone noticing.

Karen looked around at all the guards and decided to swim back to her room and get some rest. It was no use swimming around the palace when she had nothing to do and had no way of getting outside unseen. She just hoped this situation with Yari and Ketsueki would come to an end soon. She wanted to be exploring and finding out more about humans instead of being trapped inside the palace.

As dusk began to set over the ocean, Yari and Ketsueki had finally reached the neutral area between Akua and Atlantica. Ketsueki followed his brother curiously, wondering what Yari would have planned in a place like this.

As Yari lead Ketsueki through the strange part of the ocean, the water grew darker and active geysers began to appear sporadically. As the two Krahsians swam through the dark waters, Yari said nothing until finally he stopped. In front of the two lay the skeleton of a large sea monster. "Here we are, finally we found the Serpentine's skeleton. The Leviathan's husk. Here in this dead sea monster's body she had made her home, and it is she who will help us get what we want brother."

"She?" Ketsueki repeated. He still wasn't sure what Yari's plan was, so he decided to just follow along and go with it. Yari seemed to have a plan at least, which was more than he could say for himself.

Yari didn't say anything more, instead he simply began to swim into the skeleton of the sea monster. He and Ketsueki swam through the skeleton and over a strange looking garden of plants, or something that looked like plants. When they stopped, they were floating only a few feet away from what looked like a giant conch shell. For a few minutes they just floated there in silence, until suddenly an Octopian woman slide out of it.

As she came out into the light, Yari and Ketsueki were able to take a good look at her face. Ketsueki wasn't sure, but he started to wonder if this was the infamous Ursula.

Ursula swam out to meet the two with a grin. "Well now, what do we have here? You two must be the Krashians Yari and Ketsueki."

Yari looked at Ursula with a stern look on his face. He wanted to show her he was not someone she could toy with. "Yes, and you must be Ursula the sea witch."

"I see you've heard of me." Ursula swam around Yari and Ketsueki and began sizing them up. "You two have created quite a stir in Akua. Now what exactly can I do for you boys?"

"I heard that you know a little magic. If that is true, then you can use your magic to help my brother and I make two certain mermaids fall in love with us."

Ursula's grin grew wider as she swam over to her shelves of potion ingredients. "There is one potion, but it would take a long time to prepare. However, there is another way." Ursula grabbed a vial and swam back over to Yari and Ketsueki. "This works quite well with another plan I've been developing, but in order for it to work I need for those fools at the palace to let down their guard. Drink this vial, and it will create duplicates of the two of you. Send them to the palace where they will be locked away. The duplicates will make them think they won't have to worry about you, while you remain free to help me."

Yari looked from the potion to Ketsueki and then back at the potion, a smirk appearing on his face. "It would be fun to get what I want and fool those idiots." Yari then took the potion and drank a small dose of it. Suddenly floating next to him was a copy of himself, and it was wearing the same smirk he was. "Perfect, soon I'll have Renae and my revenge."

Ketsueki then took the vial from Yari. He still wasn't sure if they could trust Ursula, but he knew better than to argue with his older brother. "Don't forget about Karen. I certainly wouldn't mind knocking that obnoxious prince down a peg or two either." Ketsueki then drank some of the potion and his own double appeared.

Yari turned to Ursula and stared at her in silence for a moment with intense passion and anger evident in his eyes. They may have had the duplicates now, but his heart's desire still wasn't his. "You may have created doubles of us but you still haven't helped us get what we want."

Ursula's grin remained on her face. She seemed confident in her plan. "In due time my dear. You know what they say, good things come to those who wait." Ursula sent the duplicates to the palace before swimming over to her crystal ball. Yari and Ketsueki looked inside and could see their duplicates swimming to the palace. "We need for the princess to leave the palace and go to the surface. I've had my eye on her and her brother for a while now, and they seem to have an interesting ability."

Yari didn't know what Ursula meant by interesting ability, but he kept an eye on the crystal ball, watching as the duplicates swam towards the palace of Akua. Once the duplicates arrived at the palace they were easily taken prisoner by a large group of guards and thrown into the dungeons.

Word of their arrest quickly spread through the palace, and a wave of relief washed over everyone there. When Karen heard, she quickly swam to find her brother. This was just the chance she needed to go back to the surface.

Karen found Seiru in his room reading a book about sea creatures, and lying on his bed. He seemed so calm and relaxed but she knew now might be her only chance, and if she didn't take Seiru with her she might not be allowed out. "Sei Onii-Chan, I was wondering if you want to come with me for a swim."

Seiru looked up from his book and turned his attention to Karen. He knew it wouldn't take long for her to want to leave the palace. "I see you don't waste any time."

Karen just shrugged her shoulders and smiled at her older brother, acting as innocent as an angelfish. "I'm tired of being stuck inside."

Seiru just sighed and marked his place in the book with a piece of seaweed. Knowing Karen would just swim off on her own if he didn't go with her, Seiru went along with her and they headed for the main gate.

Once they were out of the palace, Karen continued to swim until she was sure no one could see them. Once she was sure no one was around, she stopped and changed her direction. She started to quickly push upwards through the water and watched in amazement as she and the surface came closer and closer to one another.

"Karen!" Seiru was bewildered by Karen's sudden change in course. He swam after her as fast as he could, but once again Karen was just too fast for him to keep up. He knew she was headed for the surface, and that he would have to stop her from going ashore once more.

Karen could barely hear her brother screaming her name. She was to excited at the prospect of seeing the surface world again and finding out if she would gain legs again once she found dry land. Once she breached the surface and she was no longer fully underwater she began to look around for dry land. It took her awhile but she soon spotted a beach and began to swim in the direction of it.

As Seiru continued to call out to her, Karen reached the beach and was quick to pull herself out. Seiru swam after her with everything he had in hopes to bring her back to the water.

Karen quickly pulled herself to an area of the beach that was completely dry, but still near the water and waited to see what would happen. For a moment nothing happened and Karen grew upset, but then suddenly she began to feel something and just like with last time her tail and fins transformed into legs and feet. She was overjoyed to see this strange miracle was not a one time thing and quickly stood up to try her legs out once again. At first she was a little clumsy but after awhile the grace of last time returned as it was like she had always known how to walk.

Seiru couldn't believe his eyes. He had wanted to forget the incident in Atlantica had ever happened, but it was now obvious that Karen wouldn't let him. "Karen get back in the water right now!"

Karen ignored her brother and continued to walk along the beach. She couldn't believe how easily she had figured out how to walk, it was like she had always been meant to walk on land. It was so amazing being able to do something humans did every day. If she could stay like this forever, nothing would make her happier.

Knowing that Karen wouldn't listen to him while on land, Seiru swam to the shore and began pulling himself up to the beach. When he reached dry land, his tail transformed and he stumbled to his feet. He tried to forget the fact that this was no doubt what Karen wanted from the beginning. Why else would she ask him to come along when she knew he was against her going to the surface? "You were planning this the whole time, weren't you? Karen, you know I told you not to go to the surface. It's too dangerous. Besides, we don't know if there are any side effects to this."

Karen just smiled at Seiru and twirled around the beach. She was having so much fun being human, she couldn't believe something so fantastic had happened to her. "Oh Sei Onii-Chan stop being such a scaredy catfish. We are experiencing something I bet no other merperson ever has, we should enjoy it while we can."

"Karen I'm serious, this is dangerous. Now you've had your fun, so let's get back in the water. Don't make me drag you back, because I will."

Karen stopped twirling and let out a sigh of disappointment. She didn't want to leave, but she knew that if they didn't go home people would come searching for them, and she wanted to keep their new ability a secret for a little longer. So she went with Seiru back to the water and watched as her legs and feet changed back into a tail and fins.

As they swam back, Seiru continued to scold Karen about how reckless her actions were. Karen only took her brother's words half-heartily as they didn't really bother her so much.

As they swam back, Karen thought about how their new found ability would give them an even better chance at proving to their father that humans weren't dangerous. As these thoughts filled her head, she decided to share them with Seiru. She knew he wasn't too sure about her plan, but she could tell he wasn't as against humans as he made it appear he was, and that he would come along with her even if it was just to keep her 'safe'.

As she expected, Seiru reluctantly agreed to tag along with Karen. He was still against the whole thing, but he knew he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it, and he couldn't very well let her go alone. "I'll go with you on one condition. You have to start listening to me Karen. If you don't, I swear I won't even leave the palace with you anymore."

Karen was reluctant at first but finally agreed to Seiru's condition. It would be easier if he came along with her, after all with him along their father wouldn't ask too many questions. So with that done, Karen had finally reached the next step in her plan, and she knew that soon she would prove her father wrong.


	19. Chapter 19

It had been a few days since Karen and Seiru's second trip to the surface and since then Karen had been thinking about all the things being able to go ashore offered to her cause. She had been forming a plan and decided that she and her older brother would need to interact with humans, but first they would have to find human clothing. She only knew of one place where merpeople could find human clothes, and that was inside a sunken ship. She knew it would be tricky finding clothes and hiding them from her father, but she knew she had to do it, and soon. The human world was calling to her and she needed to know more about it as soon as possible.

They went to the one place they knew they would find a ship. Seiru was reluctant to take Karen to the shark infested canyon, but it was the fastest way to find what they needed. They swam along the edge of the canyon until they found a ship and went inside. Seiru looked around vigilantly to make sure there weren't any sharks nearby while Karen explored.

Karen swam through the ship slowly, exploring every inch of it searching for anything that might have human clothing in it. As she slowly swam into a smaller room she noticed what looked like a bed, but it wasn't made of coral nor did it have a sea sponge mattress. But her attention was quickly pulled away from the strange bed like object, for just next to it was a chest. Karen swam over to it; opened it slowly; and saw that inside of it was a large collection of human clothing, both male and female.

Karen grabbed some clothes that looked like they might fit herself and Seiru, and then the two of them swam out of the ship and quickly left the canyon. Seiru made sure Karen went first, so that he could protect her if they were attacked from behind

As the two swam out of the canyon, they didn't know that from the safety of Ursula's lair Yari and Ketsueki were watching them. Yari didn't know what the twos new found ability meant, but he did know that Ursula had a plan that involved it. He also knew that Ursula's plan, if executed successively, would get him and his brother what they wanted. But how was what he wanted to know. "So sea witch you say you have a plan, but what is your plan and how will it help us?"

Ursula chuckled as she thought of her plan, but she didn't want to give too much of it away at once. "My little brother is so completely predictable, and his children are just like him. Once Karen gets a taste of the human world, she'll begin desiring it more and more. Before long, she won't want to return to the sea and will desire a more permanent solution. Once that happens, everything will soon fall into place."

Yari still didn't understand what Ursula meant. How would the princess wanting to stay on land help them? He knew Ketsueki wanted the young mermaid for himself, and if she wanted to stay human he might never have her. Ursula was starting to get on Yari's last nerve, but he knew she was the only one who could help them so he simply said to her in a steady calm tone. "How is the mermaid princess wanting to stay in the human world good for us sea witch?"

Ursula looked at Yari with a confident smirk. She knew she was getting under his fins, and it almost made her nostalgic. "All in due time. If I told you everything now, it would ruin all the fun. But don't you worry, you will have your mermaids soon enough, and I will have what I want as well."

Yari just glared at Ursula, a strong contempt for her stirring within him. He was quickly growing tired of the Octopian woman's cryptic riddles. But he knew he couldn't do anything to her, after all she had powerful magic. So he bottled his rage and just glared at her. "Your plan better work."

"Oh it will." Ursula swam back to her crystal ball and watched as Karen and Seiru reached the surface. When they emerged from the water, they got dressed and headed into town.

As the two wandered through the town, Karen gazed at all the people she saw, she had never seen a human before, and they all looked so beautiful to her. It was like a dream come true for her. After a while she started pulling Seiru this way and that way so she could see all the human things that caught her attention. It was so glorious to watch how the humans used them, she never thought she would ever get the chance. "Oh Sei Onii-Chan, this is so incredible."

As Karen pulled him every which way, Seiru thought about reminding her that his arm was attached to him. At least, it was for now. Still, he couldn't help but smile at how happy his sister seemed and felt it would be cruel to interrupt her.

Karen continued to pull Seiru from place to place, watching as the humans went about their daily business. It was so incredible for her to see humans living their normal every day lives, but after awhile of pulling Seiru from one place to another Karen stopped. At first her brother didn't know why, but when his gaze landed on the place Karen was staring at he saw a pair of humans, a male and a female dancing while a band played. Seiru simply smiled at his sister fondly, he had always known Karen wanted to see humans dancing and now she had. A long time dream and hope of her's had finally been fulfilled.

The two siblings stayed silent and just watched as the happy pair danced and twirled about, until finally Karen took her eyes off them and looked at Seiru. "One day I hope I can look as happy while just dancing as they do. They look so in love."

Seiru was't ready for Karen to start dating yet. He could barely handle her as it was. "Don't say stuff like that to me, you're my little sister."

Karen rolled her eyes at Seiru and just turned her attention back to the happy couple. They seemed so happy just being with one another, their dance seemed to be filled with such ease and familiarity. Karen just wished she could find a love like that. She read about it and had seen it first hand, but had yet to experience it for herself and that fact saddened her a little. She wished to find her own love one day like Seiru had. "I'm not a child Sei Onii-Chan, I'm fifteen years old. Stop treating me like a guppy."

Seiru wrapped his arm affectionately around Karen. "Doesn't matter how old you get, you're still my little sister. Besides, it's not you I don't trust. Not all mermen are nice guys like me and Riku-Kun you know."

Karen leaned gently into her brother's hold and let his warmth wash  
over her. It was relaxing being in his arms and feeling so safe. "I know Sei Onii-Chan, I know."

Seiru and Karen continued to watch until the music stopped. The band started to pack up, and the people whom had gathered around began to disperse as well.

As the crowd dispersed, Karen turned her attention back to another area of town. Her eyes quickly caught sight of something, she quickly broke free of Seiru's gentle hold on her and ran towards it. When she reached the store the item was in, she stopped before hitting the window and began to stare at it. Through the see-through pane of glass Karen could see a miniature human girl turning slowly on what looked like a small silver stage. She remembered seeing something similar to this in Ariel's collection, but the one Ariel had held two humans instead of one, and it hadn't turned until Ariel had made it. "Oh Sei Onii-Chan, have you ever see something so beautiful?"

Seiru walked over to the window and looked at the item. He wasn't too sure what it was supposed to be, but it at least got Karen's mind off of dating. Still, the human world seemed rather strange to him. Everything was so different here than it was under the sea. "Just what is it anyway?"

"I don't know, but I saw one that was very similar just a little while ago, it was so beautiful and so is this one."

Before he could say anything else, Seiru had to shield his eyes as the sun reflected from the window into his eyes. When he looked out to the sky, he realized they had already been there a while. "We should get back before Father starts to worry."

Karen noticed that the humans around them seemed to heading home as well, and so she nodded slightly at her older brother's statement. "I guess you're right Sei Onii-Chan, it does seem to be getting late."

The two siblings went back to the beach and found a spot hidden by a group of rock formations. They figured this would be a good place to change back undetected, so they changed out of their human clothes and returned to the water.

Once Karen's feet touched the water, they changed back into fins with her legs following shortly after. Soon she was a mermaid again and it was as if she had never been human at all. For a moment, Karen just swished her fins through the water before diving back under the waves and heading home with Seiru.

Ursula continued to watch them in her crystal ball, and made note of Karen's expression. It was obvious she was somewhat reluctant to return to the sea, and in time that feeling would grow. "There, you see? She's already starting to favor land versus sea. It won't take long for her want to stay, and she'll be willing to do anything to keep from returning to the water. And that's where we've got her."

Yari kept his eyes firmly on the crystal ball and watched as the two young merpeople swam back to their home. He had noticed Karen's distraught expression just as Ursula had, but he wasn't too sure her wanting to stay on land was a good thing. He was getting annoyed with Ursula keeping her plan secret from him. "You had better be right about that sea witch. Or else."

Ursula simply brushed off Yari's threat. "What reason would I have to deceive you? Just trust your dear old Ursula, and you will have your mermaids."

Yari didn't respond to Ursula's taunting, he was to on edge to give into her ways. So he just kept watching the crystal ball, waiting to see what would happen next. He hoped it would happen fast. He hated waiting, especially for things he wanted.


	20. Chapter 20

Karen sat comfortably on the edge of Renae's bed and talked to the other mermaid in a hushed tone. She was telling Renae all about the things she had seen in the human world with Seiru. She was telling her all about the many trips they had been on to the surface world and how amazing everything she saw was. "Oh Renae-Chan, everytime is better than the last, every new thing I see is more beautiful than anything I've ever seen before. Oh I wish you could come with us."

Renae smiled at her friend. She was glad that Karen was having fun, and even more so that she seemed to be getting along with Seiru the whole time. "Unfortunately, I'm still stuck in this bed. I have regained some mobility in my tail though, and the doctor says I should be able to swim short distances soon."

Karen's joy grew even greater with her friend's words. She had been so worried that Renae might never be able to swim again, but now knowing that her tail was healing perfectly brought ease to Karen's heart. Even though she had been enjoying her time among the humans, worry for her friend's health had always remained in the back of her mind. "I'm so glad you are getting better! Soon we'll be able to swim together again, and I promise no more going near the canyon."

Renae couldn't help but giggle at Karen's words. Karen had already made her that promise after they were attacked by the shark, and Renae knew that the only reason she went back once more was so that she and Seiru could find human clothes.

Karen started giggling as well, and for a few minutes the two shared a moment of pure peace and joy. It had been so long since Karen had been able to laugh with Renae that just hearing her friend's laugh made her happy beyond belief. "We'll go to the coral garden and watch the angelfish swim by once you are fully healed, we'll enjoy a nice; lazy; do-nothing day."

Renae smiled at Karen to show she liked the idea. "I'd like that. I think Prin-" Renae stopped herself for a moment and blushed. "I mean, Seiru said that he would like to do something as well."

Karen grinned and giggled when she saw Renae blush. Her best friend and her older brother's blossoming relationship was so cute to her, and she couldn't get enough of seeing either of them blush when they talked about each other. "I'm sure he has got something wonderful planned for the two of you."

Renae blushed again and nodded. She had been concerned at first when she found out Seiru loved her, as she knew it would only give Yari more incentive to go after him. But Yari and his brother were now behind bars and could no longer hurt them. She had been so relieved when she learned of their arrest.

Karen nodded as well, knowing that Seiru would try to be as romantic as possible now that he didn't have to worry about Yari and Ketsueki. She knew he would try to do everything in his power to make their first date perfect. "You are going to have a wonderful time I just know it."

Thinking about it, Renae couldn't help but smile. In her wildest imaginings, she'd never thought it possible for Seiru to return the love she'd felt for him for so long. It felt like a dream she didn't want to wake up from.

Karen was so glad to see her friend so happy, it had been so long since Renae had anything to be so happy about, that just seeing her with a smile on her face was wonderful and soul lifting. "I'm so glad to see you happy again Renae-Chan."

Renae blushed slightly once more. She then heard a knock on the door and called for them to come in. She was delighted to see Seiru swim into the room. Seiru blushed when he realized Karen was there. "Oh Karen, I didn't know you were in here."

Karen simply smiled at her brother. She held back a laugh; lifted herself off of Renae's bed; and swam over to the door. She then turned to Seiru and said, "Don't worry I was just leaving." After that quick exchange she swam out of the room and left the new couple alone.

Seiru's face turned red as Karen left. "Y-you don't have to leave if you don't want to." But she'd already left and he was now alone with Renae. Renae blushed a little as Seiru swam over to her and sat on her bed. She then sat up and while her tail throbbed slightly as she moved, she scooted over on the bed closer to Seiru. Seiru's cheeks remained pink as he took her hand in his. "How are you feeling?"

Renae smiled at him and said she was fine. "I'm glad to see you again. I hear you and Karen-Chan have been having fun up on the surface."

Seiru rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Well, Karen has been anyway. I'm still not too sure about the whole thing, but I promised I would help her so I guess I'm stuck."

Renae could still tell that Seiru was becoming curious about the humans himself. He just didn't want to admit it. "Well at the very least, it sounds like it's been going well."

"Still, I feel bad I haven't had much time to come see you lately." Renae shook her head and told him it was alright. "Even so, I still missed you."

As the two shared an intimate moment, they were unaware that in Ursula's lair Yari was watching them through the sea witch's crystal ball. Anger began to brew within him, he couldn't stand the sight of them together, Renae was suppose to be his. She wasn't suppose to love anyone but him. He was growing tired of waiting and seeing Renae with Seiru caused his last bit of patience to vanish. "Sea witch! How much longer must I wait before your plan is put into action?!"

Yari knew the room was empty except for himself, but his patience was gone and Ursula seemed not to care. As he continued to watch the crystal ball, Renae scooted closer to Seiru and laid her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around here petite frame. Her happiness at the moment was made evident in her smile.

Yari glared at the sight he saw and let out a scream, he was tired of waiting. He was tired of seeing his mermaid with someone else. He was tired of Ursula making him wait, but he also knew without her he wouldn't get what he wanted, so instead he pulled his gaze away from the crystal ball and let his anger fester in silence while he waited for the sea witch to return.

As Yari's frustration grew more and more, Ursula finally returned with Ketsueki. Ketsueki saw the look on his brother's face and knew he had been watching Renae again.

As the two entered the skeleton lair, Yari turned his full attention and anger on Ursula. He was tired of her games and he was going to make her aware of that. "Sea witch you better put your plan into action or I'll feed you to a shark!"

"Calm down already." Ursula had soon grown tired of Yari's impatience and constant bad mood. Still, she made sure to keep her cool as she swam over to the crystal ball. She waved her hand over it as the sweet and tender scene shown switched over to Karen. She had snuck out of the palace for a moment to visit her collection, and was now on her way back to the palace. Ursula grinned as she once again changed the view to show Sora swimming through a nearby hallway. "There, that should do just nicely." Ursula touched the crystal ball slightly and black ink flowed into it, seeming to surround Sora.

All of sudden Sora felt the need to swim back through the hallway she had come from, and when she did she saw Karen sneaking back inside the palace through a secret passageway. She quickly hid before Karen could see her and decided then and there that the next time Karen snuck out, she would follow her and see where she went. She was going to make sure that Karen would learn a lesson and begin acting like a proper princess, of that she was sure.

Completely unaware that Sora had seen her sneak back in, Karen swam towards where the rooms were and saw Seiru and Renae in the hallway. She was delighted to see that Renae was up and swimming again, but also confused as to why she was swimming so soon.

Karen swam over to the pair of merpeople with a look of joy mixed with worry on her face, she was concerned that Renae was pushing herself too soon and would hurt herself all over again. "Renae-Chan are you okay? Are you sure you should be out of bed?"

Renae smiled happily at Karen. "The doctor came just a little while ago and said I could start swimming a little."

Karen smiled brightly at the news and quickly hugged her friend. She was overjoyed to see that Renae's recovering was coming along quite quickly. "That is wonderful to hear Renae-Chan I'm so glad."

Renae nodded. "I have to make sure not to over do it, but it feels so good to be able to use my fins again."

"I bet, I would hate it if I couldn't even swim around a little. I don't do well with staying in one spot for very long."

Renae giggled as she thought about how true Karen's statement was. The day Karen stayed still was the day they saw fire in the ocean.

Karen giggled along with her friend and gave her one last hug before she decided to leave Seiru and Renae alone, and keep on swimming through the palace. "Have a fun time together you two, I'll see you at dinner."

Seiru called out to his sister as she swam away. "Karen, I can still come swimming with you after I help Renae if you still want to go."

Karen called back an affirmative response to her brother about going for a swim later before continuing on her way and leaving him alone with Renae once again. She decided that she would let them have a lot of alone time since they had just recently gotten together. It was nice seeing them getting so close and comfortable with each other that she didn't want to take away any time they could use to be with just each other.

Seiru helped Renae out for a while longer until she started to get tired. He helped her back into bed before going to find Karen.

When Seiru found Karen she was swimming around the rehearsal room, she was watching as the royal choir practiced for the next summer celebration. When she noticed Seiru, she waved him over and pointed at the sword fish in the middle. "He has a solo this year, it is his first solo ever. I just know he'll do great."

Seiru nodded and listened until the song finished. "Did you want to go today?"

"I do. Let's go, we only have a few hours until dinner time."

Seiru and Karen then left the palace together and the two of them swam towards their usual spot. As they swam towards the surface, they saw something strange.

As they got closer to it Karen realized it was a human male, he was unconscious and his feet were tangled in seaweed. Karen quickly remembered humans couldn't breathe under water and swam over to the human. She grabbed a sharp rock and cut through the seaweed. Once she had freed the human man she quickly grabbed him and pulled him to the beach. For a moment she just stared at the human male, but when saw him opening his eyes she quickly dove back into the ocean so he wouldn't see her tail and fins.

Seiru pulled Karen behind one of the rock formations so she wouldn't be seen. He knew Karen wouldn't have been able to let the human drown, so he didn't scold her. The two of them watched n secret as the human slowly rose to his feet.

As the human got back up on his feet, he stumbled slightly and then got his balance back. At first, he just slowly walked around the shore line and looked around the beach. He was searching for answers. He didn't know how he got free from the seaweed or back to the beach but he was glad he was safe again so he decided to ignore the strangeness of his situation and headed back towards town.

When he was sure the human was gone Seiru let out a sigh of relief. "That was close."

Karen nodded and swam a little ways away from the rock and closer to the beach, she had been a little bit mesmerized by what she had just seen and wanted to see if she could catch a final glimpse of the human man before he was completely out of sight. Seeing a human in the water was odd to her and it had never happened before. "I didn't know humans could like the water, do you think maybe he was swimming before he got stuck?"

"Maybe." Seiru saw a pair of humans walking towards the beach. It would be impossible for them to get out without being seen now. "I don't think we'll be able to get out now."

Karen swam back behind the rock so the humans wouldn't see her and let out a small sigh. She had been so looking forward to going back into town but now with so many humans around it would be impossible to leave the water without being seen. "I suppose we should head home then, dinner will be ready soon."

Seiru nodded and headed back with Karen. "Sorry Karen, I know you were looking forward to going back today."

"It's okay Sei Onii-Chan, there will be other trips. One day of not going is okay. Besides even if I can't have fun on land I can still go and see my collection."

Seiru smiled at Karen. He was rather proud of her for how well she was handling herself today. "I'll take you tomorrow then. Promise."

"I'll hold you to that Sei Onii-Chan, after all a promise is a promise."

Later on after dinner, Seiru and Karen decided to go their separate ways for the day. Seiru went to see Renae, while Karen decided to visit her collection once more before calling it a night.

As Karen snuck out of the palace through a hidden passageway she didn't notice Sora following her at a safe distance. When Karen reached her hidden cove Sora hid behind a grouping of coral and watched as she moved the seaweed that hid the secret entrance. Sora quickly popped her head into the secret cove to see what Karen had in there and was shocked to see a collection of human things. She quickly decided then that Syaoran must be informed of what his daughter was doing and swam off before Karen could realize she had even been there.

Sora swam back to the palace as fast as she could, not wanting for Karen to leave before she got Syaoran. When she found him, he looking over a few royal documents in the throne room.

"O-Sama I have important news, it is about your daughter. She has a collection of human things! I just saw her with it!"

"WHAT?!" Syaoran quickly set the documents aside and followed Sora. He was furious over what Sora had just told him. Karen had been doing such a pleasant job of behaving herself lately, so hearing that she was still disobeying him was angered him greatly. Together they swam to the hidden cove and found Karen still there with her collection.

Karen was shocked by her father's sudden appearance in the cove and didn't know what to say. She had hoped he would never find out about the cove. It was suppose to be her secret but now he was floating there glaring down at her and her human things. She was scared and didn't know what to do, she never thought this moment would ever happen.

"Karen, what is the meaning of this?! You've been collecting these things behind my back?! I thought I told you to stay away from those HUMANS!"

Karen was so scared she had never seen her father so angry before, but she also knew if she didn't say something now things would never change, and her father would continue to hate humans forever. "Father, you don't understand humans aren't dangerous. They use these things to help each other. If you would just give them a chance I know they could show you they aren't monsters."

Syaoran's rage continued to grow at his disobedient daughter. "THAT'S ENOUGH! You've lied to me, you've snuck out, and you've continued to disobey me! I swear that I WILL get through to you young mermaid, and if this is the only way then so be it!" Syaoran then raised his scepter and the sphere at the tip began to glow. One by one he began destroying the various human things that Karen had worked so hard to collect.

"Father no! Father stop!" Karen screamed and shouted pleas to her father trying to get him to stop, but it seemed nothing she did could reach through his rage. So Karen was forced to watch as each one of her precious treasures was shattered and turned into small shards. It felt like her own heart was being shattered and her dear memories destroyed. She felt so much hurt that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't hold back her tears.

Syaoran continued until every last human item in the cove had been destroyed. It was all gone, leaving behind only Karen's tears.

Karen looked around the cove and tried to see if any of her treasures had remained safe from her father's rage, but there was nothing. Every last human thing now lay on the ocean floor in pieces. Nothing remained of the glorious collection that once was. To Karen it felt like all her wonderful memories were lying around her destroyed and unrecognizable. To her it felt like her father had broken her soul and opened a flood gate of tears, tears that would never stop flowing.

Ursula chuckled to herself as she watched with Yari and Ketsueki through the crystal ball. They then saw Karen swim out of the cove in the opposite direction of the palace. "Perfect, Syaoran reacted just as I thought he would. The time is drawing near."

Ketsueki balled his hand into a fist and glared at the crystal ball. "And they call us monsters I can't believe he destroyed all of Karen's precious human things."

"All part of the plan." Ursula swam to the exit and cast a spell on herself, once again taking on the guise of the mermaid Arsulu. "You two stay here I have some business to take care of."

Karen continued to swim further and further away from her home, not caring where she might end up. She just knew she had to get as far away from her father and his hatred of humans as possible. So she continued to push forward through the waters growing current even though she was growing tired. Eventually though exhaustion took over and she floated down onto a rock so she could rest for a while before continuing her swim.

As thoughts of what had just happened raced through her mind, Karen noticed someone was swimming towards her. Arsulu had a worried look on her face as she swam over to Karen. "You poor thing, you must be Princess Karen."

Karen looked up at the beautiful mermaid floating in front of her and nodded. She didn't know who this other mermaid was but she seemed genuinely worried about her so Karen decided to trust her. "I am Karen, but who are you?"

Arsulu bowed slightly to Karen before answering. "My name is Arsulu. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was swimming by earlier and I heard the disagreement you had with your father. What a cruel thing for him to do, destroying all of your precious treasures like that. I too am of the opinion that humans are not as dangerous as everyone thinks."

"It is nice to meet you Arsulu-San I wish the circumstances were better though. I'm also sorry you had to witness my father's rage. He's never been so cruel before, and now because of him all my treasures are gone."

Arsulu smiled at Karen. "I might be able to help you if you want."

Karen was a little skeptical but she decided to hear Arsulu out so she asked as politely as she could how Arsulu would be able to help her.

"You want to meet and talk to the humans, don't you? I have some magical powers, and I can give you a potion that will allow you to become human."

Karen couldn't believe what she was hearing, a way to become human? Could it be possible? "Can you really do that? Can you really make me a real human?"

Arsulu's smile grew wider at Karen's enthusiasm. "Of course, I've done it several times myself. Do you want to be human?"

Karen nodded vigorously, she had dreamed about being a real human before but she never thought it was possible till now. "I do, I want nothing more than to be human."

Arsulu handed Karen a vial. "This will turn you human, but only temporarily. The only way to make the spell truly permanent is if you can find a human who truly loves you. If you share a kiss of true love, then you will remain human forever."

At Arsulu's words Karen's mind immediately conjured up an image of the human man she had saved just hours ago, if she could find him again then just maybe she could become a full fledged human for the rest of her life. "Thank you Arsulu-San you've showed me great kindness."

"Don't thank me yet, there's more I have to tell you. You must be careful about who you kiss. If the kiss is not of true love, then you will return to being a mermaid no matter where you are."

Karen nodded slowly taking Arsulu's words to heart. She wouldn't even think of jeopardizing her chances of staying human. "I'll make sure the kiss is the kiss of true love."

"Oh yes, there is one more thing. You see, I require payment for my services. You can't get something for nothing after all."

"But I don't have anything."

"I won't ask for much. What I want from you is your voice."

"My voice? But without my voice how can I-"

"My dear, haven't you heard of body language? You're such a cute girl after all, and you don't need words to fall in love."

"... If all I have to do is give you my voice, I'll do it."

Arsulu grinned and held out a seashell necklace. "All you need to do is sing to this necklace and it will transfer your voice. Once that is done, there will be no turning back. Are you prepared?"

Karen nodded and took the seashell from Arsulu, for a moment she just stared down at it. She felt a little nervous and was second guessing her choice, but she decided this was what she needed and so she slowly began to sing into the seashell.

As Karen sang, an orange glow began emitting from her throat. The glow slowly moved upward and a glowing light came out from her mouth. Suddenly, Karen felt a strange feeling and stopped singing, and yet her song could still be clearly heard. Karen's song didn't stop until the glow disappeared into the shell. When the song stopped, Arsulu took the shell back from Karen. She then wished Karen luck and swam off.

Karen just floated there for a moment holding the vile that Arsulu had given her before she began to swim to the surface. Once she reached the surface she began to swim in the direction of the beach. As she reached the beach she opened the vile and drank the potion. For a moment nothing happened but the next thing Karen knew her tail was gone and its place was a pair of legs. She was shocked to see herself with legs well still in water but the shock quickly wore off and she quickly put on the dress she had kept hidden near a series of rocks, and began to walk into town.

As she walked through the town things seemed different for her, she recognized everything from her other visits with Seiru. But she still felt disoriented and out of place. Nothing seemed the same. But this was her life now, and she just needed to find someone she could share true loves kiss with.


	21. Chapter 21

As Karen wandered around town, she began to explore all the areas she hadn't been to before. She began to search every nook and cranny for the man she had saved just hours ago. She didn't know why, but she felt like if she could share true loves kiss with anyone, it would be that man. But after a long and uneventful search, her attention began to be drawn to strange objects; things she had never seen before; things that amazed and delighted her. She spent a long time walking from shop to shop admiring all the human things she could see. She became so engrossed with all the human things around her, she didn't even notice when a carriage began to head straight for her. It wasn't until she was almost trampled by the horses that she heard the carriage. It seemed like her new human life was about to end before it even began, but the next thing Karen new a man was jumping out of the carriage and pulling her to safety.

"Oh my goodness, young lady are you alright?" Asked the man who was now holding Karen in his arms and checking to see if she was injured. To Karen's shock it was the same man she had saved from drowning. She couldn't believe her luck. Just when she thought she would never find him, here he was.

"Miss are you hurt?" Karen simply shook her head to show him that she was fine. But his concerned expression did not fade. "Are you sure?" This time Karen nodded. "Miss, can you speak?" Karen looked down at the cobblestone street and shook her head once again. The young man let out a small sigh and then helped Karen up. "You must have really been through something, and now I nearly ran you over. Let me repay you. While you are here you shall be my most honored guest." The next thing Karen knew she was being helped into the carriage. "While you are with me, I'll make sure my staff sees to all your needs." Karen was confused by his words at first, but once she saw that the carriage was being steered towards the castle, she quickly realized the man she had saved and whom had now saved her was royalty just like she was.

Once they reached the castle, the man helped her out of the carriage and lead her into the main hall. As soon as they reached the center of the main hall, they were greeted by a group of women. They eldest woman stepped forward, bowed, and began to address the man whom Karen quickly realized was the prince.

"Welcome back Prince Tsubasa." The woman noticed Karen step out of the carriage behind Tsubasa. "Oh, do we have a guest?"

"Yes we do. She'll be staying with us for as long as she is in town, and I'd like you to take care of her while she is with us. Make sure she has everything she'll need to enjoy a comfortable stay with us."

The woman smiled at Karen. "My name is Miyu, and I am the head maid. If you need anything during your stay, please do not hesitate to inform me."

Karen returned Miyu's smile a bit shyly and nodded to show she understood. She was still getting use to the fact that she no longer had a voice to speak with, but was quickly mastering the ability to respond without words. She then turned her attention to Tsubasa, who quickly remembered she couldn't speak and that Miyu and the rest of the staff would need to be informed of this fact. "Oh. Miyu before I forget again, I must tell you that our guest can't speak. It seems she had a traumatic experience and lost her voice because of it."

"Oh my, the poor dear." Miyu walked up to Karen to get a good look at her. "Why don't you come with me dear, and we'll see about getting you cleaned up."

Karen looked between Miyu and Tsubasa for a moment, and when she saw Tsubasa nod she let Miyu take her to another part of the castle. It was a strange room to her; she had never seen any of the things inside of it before. Especially not the strange white thing that was in the middle of the room. It was large, round, and looked as if it could hold something very big inside of it. For a moment Karen just stared at it and then looked at Miyu with confusion written on her face.

"Is something wrong dear?" Miyu was confused by the look on Karen's face. "I suppose it might be a bit fancier than you are probably used to." Miyu walked over to the bathtub and turned it on. Karen was amazed by how the water flowed out of the faucet so quickly. Miyu poured some soap into the water and it soon foamed up and filled the tub. "There you go dear. Now watch your step, it can be a bit slippery getting in. I will bring you a set of fresh clothing in a little bit. You may leave the clothes you are wearing in that basket there." Miyu pointed at a bin near the wall. When she was sure Karen was set, she left the room.

Karen looked from the bathtub to the basket, and realized she had to take her dress off and leave it in the basket before getting into the tub. After all, humans didn't wear wet clothing. So she carefully took off her dress, left it in the basket, and carefully got into the tub. She was surprised by how warm the water was, and by the fact that even though she was in water she still had legs. For a moment she just stood in the tub before slowly sitting down and letting the soapy water rush over her body.

Karen then heard a knock on the door followed by Miyu's voice. "Please excuse me, I'm coming in." Miyu returned with fresh clothing for Karen. She then set the clothing down on a near by table before walking up to Karen. "Would you like some help scrubbing your back?"

Karen nodded to show Miyu that she would appreciate the help, and then leaned forward slightly so that the older woman would have better access.

Miyu grabbed the washcloth and rubbed it against the bar of soap. Karen was amazed to see the washcloth foaming just like the water. Miyu then proceeded to scrub Karen's back with the washcloth. Once Karen's back had been completely covered in the soap, Miyu scooped up some water from the tub and rinsed her off. "There you are dear. Now, I will leave you to do the rest while I get these clothes cleaned." Miyu the took the dress Karen was wearing before and left the room.

Karen took the soap and the washcloth and proceeded to do what Miyu had just done with it. Once again, the wet washcloth became covered in foam. For a moment Karen just held the foam covered washcloth, but then she decided to do what Miyu had done on her back on her arms. After she washed her arms, she washed the rest of her body and when she felt like she was clean enough, she got up out of the bath and looked around the rest of the room.

While Karen took a bath for the first time, Sakura swam through the palace looking for Syaoran. He wasn't in the throne room, and she had barely seen him since Karen's disappearance. She finally found Syaoran speaking to Hanna about the search. "Please forgive me Hanna-San, but I need to talk to Syaoran."

Hanna bowed to Sakura and left them alone. Syaoran looked back at his wife in confusion. "What was it you needed to talk about Sakura?"

Sakura looked at Syaoran with a sad, yet stern expression. "Syaoran, there's something I've been meaning to say to you. Something I should have said a long time ago. Nobody loves you more than I do, so this isn't the easiest thing for me to say, but after what's happened I have to say it. This has gone on long enough Syaoran. I know you were upset about what happened back then on that ship, but it's time to move on. What Karen did was not wrong at all, and yet you reacted in such a cruel way. You've gone too far this time."

Syaoran couldn't believe what Sakura was saying to him. "How can you say that? You of all people know how dangerous those creatures are. I nearly lost you that day."

Sakura's expression grew even more sad as she spoke. "You didn't lose me Syaoran. No, it was I who lost something that day. I lost a wonderful young merman who was always happy and smiling. I lost the curious and adventurous merman I'd grown up with. The one I'd fallen in love with."

As Sakura finally confessed her true feelings to Syaoran after years of keeping them secret, Sora was talking to Renae about what was happening around the whole kingdom. "Oh Renae-Sama this is all my fault I was the one who told O-Sama about the princess' collection. If I hadn't said a word, she never would have swum away from home. If we don't find her I'll never forgive myself."

"Don't say that Sora-San, you were only doing what you thought was best. And besides, Seiru said he might have an idea of where Karen-Chan might be, and I have a feeling he may be right. I'm sure she'll be back by the end of the day." As she tried to cheer up Sora, Renae sighed. "I only wish I could be out there looking with everyone else. I feel so useless. Karen-Chan is my best friend, but I still can't do anything for her."

"You are still injured Renae-Sama, and you still can't swim long distances. But I know if you could, you would be out there with the search parties doing all you could to find the princess."

"Even so, I feel like I should be doing something." Renae looked down at her tail. It was still sore, but she wondered how long it might hold out. She was worried that if one of the guards or Syaoran found Karen, they might not be able to bring her back. She just hoped Seiru would be able to find her on the surface.

"Don't worry Renae-Sama, everyone is out there looking for princess Karen, and I'm sure they'll find her. Like you said, she'll be back by the end of the day."

Renae smiled and nodded. "Thank you Sora-San. I'm sorry to put all of this on you, I know you're worried too."

"No need to thank me Renae-Sama, I just hope that princess Karen returns soon so I can apologize to her. What I did wasn't right, and I caused a horrible situation to happen."

"Please don't blame yourself Sora-San."

As the search for Karen continued underwater, on land she was being lead into a large dinning room by Miyu. At first all she noticed was the large windows that let the light of the setting sun into the room, but her attention was quickly drawn to Tsubasa who was now walking towards her. "You look lovely, that dress really suits you." At his words, Karen began to blush. She wished she could thank him, but all she could do was smile politely at him. For a moment the two just stared at each other, but when Miyu coughed to make her attention known the two were finally snapped out of their trance and headed towards the table so they could wait for their meal to arrive.

It didn't take long for their meal to arrive. An assortment of gourmet food was laid out for them. Karen stared at all the strange looking food in front of her. She had no idea what any of it was, but so as to not offend her host she began to eat a small portion of everything that was laid out in front of them. To her surprise, even though she didn't know the names of the food, she found all of it quite delicious. As she ate the food, Tsubasa watched and couldn't help but smile. His guest was unlike anyone else, and it was quite refreshing. Soon the dinner was finished, staff was coming out to take the plates away, and Miyu arrived to show Karen to a guest room.

"You may use this room while you're here, if you like. I hope you will find it satisfactory." Karen nodded to show her thanks to Miyu and then stepped further into the room. It was very beautiful and it even had a balcony which allowed her to look out at the sea. For a moment, she felt a feeling of homesickness, but she quickly shook it off and began to explore the rest of the room.

Everything in the room was so amazing, and some of the things looked familiar. Still, even though she recognized some of the things, they had looked very different when she saw them under water. As she looked around the room she noticed the sun had set and that the moon was now in the sky. Seeing how late it was caused a sudden wave of exhaustion to come over Karen, so she decided to get ready for bed. After changing into the new sleeping clothes Miyu had given her, and taking her hair out of its braid, she climbed into the large bed and quickly fell asleep.

The bed Karen was sleeping on had been so soft and cozy, she almost didn't want to wake up. When she did, she was greeted by the bright sun high in the sky and realized it was already noon. She quickly got out of bed, got dressed, and left the room.

As she wandered through the halls of the castle she saw many servants going about their daily duties. It reminded her a little of the merpeople who worked in the palace, but before she could dwell on that thought for too long she was greeted by Tsubasa. He bid her a good morning and then lead her to the dinning room so they could share a nice simple lunch. Once they finished eating, Tsubasa asked Karen if she would like to see the town and she nodded yes. Soon the two were walking through the streets of the small town, and Karen was pointing out every new human thing she saw.

As Karen walked around with Tsubasa, she saw a familiar face and quickly hid behind a building. When she went to take a peek, she saw Seiru talking to one of the shop owners. "Excuse me, have you seen my little sister? She's about this tall and is probably wearing a pink dress. She has light brown hair that she usually keeps in a braid, and her eyes are the same color as mine."

The shop owner shook his head and said he hadn't seen her. By now, Seiru had become very worried about Karen. When he'd heard his father found her collection and destroyed it, he had been sure she would come to the surface. "Karen, where did you go?" No one had seen her since she swam off, so he thought she might have swam away from home and came here. Seiru sighed and looked up into the sky. It was starting to get late, so Seiru decided it was time to go home before anyone started to worry about him.

Once Karen was sure Seiru was gone, she came out of hiding and began to explore the town with Tsubasa again. They spent the next few hours walking through town, but once the sun began to set they decided to head back to the castle so they could enjoy another delicious meal made by the staff's head chef.

Tsubasa kept thinking of when they were in town. He didn't know who the boy looking for his sister was, but it seemed like his new guest was avoiding him. He started to wonder if he might have been her brother. He didn't ask her though. He decided to keep is thoughts to himself so that he wouldn't accidentally upset his guest. So all through dinner he spoke very little and only asked her questions that could be answered with simple nods or shaking of the head.

Once dinner was over, he decided to take Karen to the grand ballroom. He thought a little change of pace would be good for her. "You know, who needs words? Dancing beats small talk any day. It lets you say so many things. It is a language that is felt instead of heard." The next thing Karen new Tsubasa was teaching her how to dance the waltz. At first she was a little off balance and shaky, but once Tsubasa lead her through the basic steps a few times she found herself dancing on her own, and she couldn't help but smile.

When he saw Karen's smile, Tsubasa couldn't help but smile as well. Her smile was so warm and bright, it seemed impossible to do anything else. He hoped that she might continue to smile.

As they danced, time seemed to pass by in an instant and soon it became so late that Miyu had to come find them and shoo them both off to bed. They were both a little embarrassed about losing track of time, but because Miyu was waiting all they could do was shyly wave goodnight to each other and then head off in the directions of their bedrooms. But neither of them fell asleep soon that evening. Their mind were too full of thoughts about the magical moment that seemed to pass as they danced together.


	22. Chapter 22

Renae swam out on her own, visiting all the places she usually went with Karen. Originally, she had thought that Karen might have gone to the surface, but Seiru had been going to look for her every day for over a week now and still couldn't find her. She had become very worried about her friend, and so she used one of the secret passageways to exit the palace and search on her own. Renae continued swimming until she felt a strong pain in her tail and had to rest. Renae clutched at her tail, she knew she hadn't fully recovered from when Yari broke it. Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked out at the empty ocean. "Where did you go Karen-Chan? Could it be that something terrible has happened to you?"

As Renae cried, she noticed someone swimming up to her. She looked up and saw Arsulu floating in front of her. "My dear, what's the matter?" Renae wiped her eyes and told her she was looking for her missing friend. "Goodness, could you be one of her friends?" Arsulu frowned as Renae asked her what she meant. "Not too long ago I met a mermaid like the one you described. You see I have magic, and I try to use it to help others when I can. When I told her this, she immediately asked me to make her human."

Renae's eyes widened when she heard Arsulu's story. "Human?" If Karen really was human, then why couldn't Seiru find her?

"I tried to convince her otherwise," Arsulu continued, "but she was insistent. So I granted her wish and gave her a potion that would turn her human. Of course, the potion is only temporary but-"

"Please, do you have another one of those potions?" Arsulu seemed surprised by Renae's sudden question. "If you do, then will you please give it to me? Please, I have to find her."

Arsulu put her hands on Renae's shoulders. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy. You see my magic works only after I accept a price. For you, it would seem the price would be your happiness with the one you love."

"The happiness with the one I love?" Renae was confused, but Seiru was the first to come to mind. "What do you mean by that."

"That is your price. If you choose to become human, you will no longer be able to be with the one you love. That s why I must urge you not to seek humanity. It will only bring you sadness."

Renae shook her head at Arsulu. "Thank you for your concern, but I would still like to go. I love Seiru, and thinking I might not be able to be with him breaks my heart, but I'm just too worried about Karen-Chan. And anyways, not too long ago I was resolved never to see him again. Karen-Chan is my best friend, and she is also Seiru's little sister. I know that having her home again would make him happy, and something tells me that she wouldn't listen to anyone else anyway. I just know I can convince her to return home, so please."

Arsulu then nodded and handed Renae the potion. She then held out her hand towards Renae. "I should at least give you this. Consider it as part of what your price pays for." As Renae looked at Arsulu in confusion, a purple dress matching her tail appeared on her body. "There, now you will be able to walk around through town without drawing attention to yourself. I have also given you something else. Your friend gave me her voice in exchange for the potion, and I have given you the ability to hear her thoughts. You will now be able to communicate with each other, even though she won't be able to speak."

Renae then thanked Arsulu and swam to the surface. She still wasn't sure what Arsulu had meant when she said she wouldn't be able to be happy with the one she loved, but she assumed she meant it would be because Renae would be human while he was a merman. She figured Arsulu wouldn't know that Seiru could become human too, so she just kept going till she reached the surface.

As Renae made her deal with Arsulu, Karen was wandering the town with Tsubasa once again. It had been a week since she had come to the human world and during that time she and Tsubasa had become practically inseparable. The only time the two weren't together was during the evening when they were both asleep. As the days passed and Karen and Tsubasa's friendship grew, Karen felt even more sure that Tsubasa would be the one who she would share true love's kiss with.

Renae stumbled through town trying to figure out her legs. They were so strange to her, and they worked rather different from her tail. Not only that, but her ankles were getting sore, and she figured it was from her tail injury. She was about to stop to take a break, when she saw Karen and Tsubasa in front of a shop. Renae then regained her balance and clumsily ran over to Karen. "Karen-Chan!" Renae flung her arms around her surprised friend and she held her tightly. "I'm so glad I found you, I've been so worried."

Both Karen and Tsubasa were surprised by the sudden arrival of Renae, Karen more than Tsubasa. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She couldn't believe that Renae was there on land, on human feet and legs.

Renae heard Karen wondering what she as doing there and forgot for a moment that she could hear Karen's thoughts. "What do you mean 'what am I doing here'? I came to find you of course. I've been so worried about you."

Karen grew even more surprised at Renae's sudden statement. She hadn't said what she was thinking, she didn't have the ability to say anything anymore.

Renae wanted to explain, but she knew there were people listening in and she didn't want to give away that they were mermaids. "Well you see, I met that same girl you did, and she's the one who told me you would be here and showed me the way."

Karen just nodded and then tilted her head towards Tsubasa so that Renae would finally notice him.

"Oh, please forgive my rudeness. You must be the one who has been taking care of her. My name is Renae, thank you so much for looking after Karen-Chan."

Tsubasa was a little confused at first by Renae, but quickly regained his princely composure and greeted her with all the politeness he could muster. "It has truly been an honor having Karen-San as a guest, she makes life at the castle much more exciting."

"Castle?" Renae was slightly confused, but she then heard Karen thinking about how it was like the palace of Akua. "Then, do you work there or something?"

Tsubasa let out a soft chuckled and shook his head. "Oh no, I'm the prince, and the castle is my home."

Renae quickly bowed to Tsubasa. "Oh, please forgive me, I didn't-" Before she could finish, Renae twinged as she felt her ankle throbbing again.

Tsubasa quickly noticed Renae's pained expression and quickly became concerned for her. "Renae-San are you alright? Are you injured? Should we take you to a doctor?"

"Oh no, please don't concern yourself about it. I've already seen a doctor about it, and I've almost finished healing. I guess I just overdid it a little while I was searching for Karen-Chan."

"At least come back to the castle with us, we have plenty of guest rooms and you'll be able to rest and not put too much pressure on your ankle."

As her ankle throbbed once more, Renae thanked Tsubasa. "Thank you very much for you hospitality Prince Tsubasa. I would greatly appreciate it."

Tsubasa simply nodded, and together with Karen lead Renae to the castle. Once they arrived, they were once again greeted by a small swarm of maids lead by Miyu. "Miyu we have another guest. She is a friend of our other guest, whom I found out is named Karen. Please make sure she is properly taken care of, it seems her ankle is injured."

"Oh dear. Well then, if you'll come with me, I'll see to it you are taken care of." Renae wasn't sure at first, but when she heard Karen thinking that it was alright, she decided to go with Miyu.

As Renae went off with Miyu Karen and Tsubasa headed off to the dining room to wait for her. "'Karen, that is a beautiful name. Would it be alright if I call you Karen-San?"

Karen nodded and couldn't help but blush. She felt so happy around Tsubasa. His kind words and nature made her feel safe, and he seemed to know how to easily make her smile. But before anything more could truly happen between the two, Miyu and Renae both returned and Miyu informed them that lunch would soon be ready.

Renae sat down next to Karen and thanked Tsubasa. "Thank you Prince Tsubasa. You've done so much for Karen-Chan, and you helped me as well."

Tsubasa smiled at Renae, told her to think nothing of it, and that he was simply doing his duty as a prince. "You are guests in my kingdom and it is my pleasure and honor to have you with me. Royal life can be quite boring at times, but having guest always makes things far more enjoyable, so please think nothing of it. And while you are here, consider this castle your home away from home."

Renae couldn't help but laugh a little at Tsubasa's words. "Somehow, that sounds rather familiar. Wouldn't you agree Karen-Chan?"

Karen simply smiled and nodded. It was so wonderful that she and Tsubasa were so similar. It made things all that much better, and it helped Karen like him more than she already did.

Renae heard Karen's thoughts, and decided to share a little for her. "And it seems to me that Karen-Chan has been enjoying herself as well."

Tsubasa's gentle smile grew at Renae's words, and a spark of happiness became very evident in his eyes. "I'm glad to hear that. Karen-San has been making life in the castle more fun for everyone. Miyu especially has taken a shine to her."

Renae smiled back at Tsubasa. "That's not surprising at all. Karen-Chan has always been the type to make friends easily. And her smile is very warm. No matter how troubling the situation, Karen-Chan's smile can always make you feel better."

"I can see that, she truly does have a wonderful smile. When she smiles I can't help but want to smile myself."

"I know what you mean." Renae smiled at Karen and noticed she was blushing.

Karen smiled knowingly at Renae and then winked at her. But before Renae could respond in any way, the kitchen staff began to enter the dining hall carrying multiple plates. "It looks like lunch is here." Said Tsubasa. "I hope you'll enjoy it Renae-San."

Renae stared at the food for a moment. She didn't recognize any of the food in front of her. She didn't want to be rude, so she just took a little and tried some. "My, this is delicious."

Karen smiled at Renae and nodded before she began to eat her own meal. At first she hadn't known what to think of the strange new food but after she gave it a try she quickly came to love it.

Renae agreed with what Karen was thinking. "It is very good."

Tsubasa grinned happily at both girls and nodded a bit himself. "I'm glad you like it. I'm also glad Cook made enough for three people."

"Oh, I certainly hope I'm not causing you any trouble."

"Not at all, Cook is always making too much food. With you around there will be less food wasted."

Renae smiled and finished eating. She then thanked Tsubasa for the food. "I don't suppose you would mind if I borrowed Karen-Chan for a little bit, would you?"

"Of course not. I actually have some important work to do, so enjoy yourselves."

Renae thanked Tsubasa and she and Karen went to the room Karen was using. Renae knew Karen had a lot of questions to ask her, just as she had a lot to say. "First off, I think it would be best to tell you that I already know that you've lost your voice, and I can read your thoughts. We'll be able to communicate freely like this." Renae told Karen about how she met with Arsulu and accepted her price to become human, but she left out just what her price was. She knew Karen wouldn't forgive herself if she knew what Renae sacrificed for her.

Karen sat there as Renae told her the story of how she had become human and had started her search on land. But Karen didn't say, or in her new situation think anything. She didn't want Renae to know that she had hoped no one would find her. She didn't want her best friend to know that she wasn't delighted to see her again. So she made sure to leave her mind blank, and not think about anything.

Renae took Karen's hands in hers. "Everyone's been so worried about you. Seiru comes up to the surface every day to look for you, and Hanna-San's been searching all over Akua. Sora-San has been blaming herself for what happened. She wants very much to apologize to you."

Karen had never even thought to blame Sora for what had happened to her collection. All the blame had been placed onto her father and his inability to control his temper. Sora had just been doing her job, Karen knew that. She also knew Sora had no idea that what had happened would happen. All her anger and sorrow had been her father's fault and to Karen it still was.

Renae frowned and stared down at her feet as she heard Karen's thoughts. She wasn't sure if she should tell Karen about her parent's fight. She didn't know the details of it, but they hadn't spoken since.

Karen didn't know why Renae had suddenly become quiet, but she decided not to ask. She knew her friend already had enough on her mind, and she didn't want to add any more concern to the growing list of worries Renae seemed to have.

"Karen-Chan, I think you should at least let Seiru know where you are. You know how he gets, he's been swimming himself ragged looking for you. He's very worried about you."

Karen simply shook her head, she didn't want anyone to know where she was. She was even a little upset that Renae had found her.

Renae's expression turned solemn, and Karen realized she'd accidentally let herself think something hurtful. "But why? I know what O-Sama did hurt you, but..." Renae had never imagined that Karen would want to completely cut herself off from everyone she ever knew or cared about.

Karen didn't know what to do, she hadn't wanted Renae to know that she hoped no one would find her. She hadn't wanted to hurt Renae's feelings, but she had and now she felt awful.

"Is that really what you want Karen-Chan? To never see your friends or family ever again?" Renae was starting to wish she had never come to the surface. True, she had been worried about Karen, but the thought that her best friend wouldn't want to see her again hurt worse.

Karen didn't respond to Renae's question. She just kept her eyes glued to the floor. She knew what she was doing was hurting the people she loved, but she had made a decision to not turn back, and she was going to stick to that decision.

As Renae tried her hardest to fight back the tears, she decided to give Karen the space she wanted. She let go of Karen's hands and stood up. "If that's truly what you want, then I will respect your wishes and leave. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Renae then opened the door and started down the hallway. Her ankle started to hurt again as she walked faster, but she didn't stop.

As Renae walked down the long hallway she was quickly stopped by Karen whom had come running after her. Karen knew Renae was trying to be a good friend,but she also knew that since Renae was now on land she had nowhere else to go. It may have been painful to see Renae at first, but Karen was now actually glad to have her best friend with her. Having a familiar face around might just make getting use to human life a little bit easier.

Renae found herself unable to hold back her tears anymore as she threw her arms around Karen. She had been so afraid that Karen would want nothing to do with her anymore, and was glad to know she still cared about her. "Thank you Karen-Chan. I thought maybe you didn't want me around anymore."

Karen shook her head and returned the hug. She would always want Renae around. She was her best friend, and having her around always made things better, especially during hard times like this.

"I feel the same. It just hasn't been the same without you around Karen-Chan."

Karen smiled at her friend, and together the two walked back to the room Karen was using. Karen began to tell Renae about everything that had happened since she had arrived in the human world.

"I see, so in order to become human forever you need the kiss of true love. And you think Prince Tsubasa could be the one?"

Karen blushed slightly, but nodded and smiled. She really did have a strong feeling that Tsubasa would be the one to help her become a human forever.

Renae smiled sadly. She knew it wouldn't be easy to give up everything they had ever known, but she wanted her best friend to be happy. "Then, I'll do what I can too. I'll do everything I can to help you get Prince Tsubasa to fall in love with you. From what I saw earlier, you're already on the right track. I can tell he has already come to care for you Karen-Chan. I'm sure he will soon come to return your feelings." As she heard Karen's thoughts of thanks, Renae's mind quickly turned to Seiru. She had a feeling that she would also become human forever along with Karen, which would mean saying goodbye to him. Still, she knew that was a possibility when she took the potion, and prepared herself to do everything she could to help Karen.


	23. Chapter 23

Riku's arm had fully healed, so he had decided to visit his family while he still had some time off. It had been a while since he had last seen his parents, so it was a nice change of pace from the tension that seemed to fill the waters of the palace. Ever since Karen's disappearance, the cheer and joy had seemed to have vanished along with her. And now Renae was gone as well.

Riku's mother could tell there was a lot on Riku's mind, and decided to try and lift his spirits. "So Riku, Heiji-San tell us you've met someone special. How come you've never mentioned her to us before?"

Riku blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck to try and ease away his nerves. He hadn't meant to keep Hanna a secret from his parents, but with everything that had been going on he just couldn't seem to find the right time to tell them about her. Not only that, but now that Hanna was mad at him it just felt awkward to tell his mother and father about her.

While Riku tried to think of something to say, his mother just continued on. "I'd certainly like to meet this mermaid you seem to like so much."

Riku's father slapped his hand on his shoulder. "That's my boy. So tell me, is she cute?"

Riku simply let out a small sigh, and nodded. His father and mother had always hoped he would meet someone, They had started to worry that he was too invested in his job, and that no mermaid would ever be interested in him. "She is very beautiful, and she has an amazing personality."

Riku's father smiled at him. "Well now you definitely have to bring her home."

"Your father and I were so happy when Heiji-San told us about her. For a while there, we were starting to fear you might never find that certain someone special. You make sure to be good to her, do you hear me young merman? I won't have you making her cry."

Riku didn't know what to say, so all he did was nod. He wanted to make his parent's proud of him, and seeing them so happy for him was wonderful, so no matter how guilty he felt he just couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth about how Hanna wasn't speaking to him.

Riku's parent's just went on about meeting Hanna until it was time for Riku to leave. Before he left, Riku's mother made him promise to bring Hanna with him the next time he visited. Riku just hoped he could keep this promise. He didn't know when Hanna would forgive him, let alone start talking to him again. He just wished it would be soon, he really missed her.

As Riku swam to the palace, he overheard some people talking and recognized one of the voices as Hanna's. When he went to look, she saw her with one of the officers. "How can you say such a thing? Instead of worrying about something so trivial, you should be more concerned about Princess Karen and Renae-San. We still haven't found any clues about where they've gone, and every moment we waste something could happen to them."

The officer tried to calm Hanna down as he spoke. "Please Captain, I know you're worried about the Princess and Renae-Sama, we all are, but it won't do any good if you collapse from working too hard. We all talked about it, and we discussed it with O-Sama. He also agrees that you should take today off to rest, and he said if he has to he will order you to do so." Hanna glared at the officer and scolded him for breaking rank. "Listen, it's just one day, and we'll still be looking for them while you rest. Why don't you spend the day with Riku-Chan? I'm sure you haven't seen much of him lately-"

"Mind your own business!" Hanna swam off after yelling at the officer. She didn't like being told what to do by the lower ranking officers, but it seemed she was now under orders from Syaoran to take the day off. Even so, that officer had no right bringing up Riku. Part of the reason she was keeping so busy was to avoid him. Still, with all the commotion of Karen and Renae's disappearance, she was having trouble remembering why she was so mad in the first place. She had to admit, she was starting to miss him.

Riku watched as Hanna swam off. He wanted to swim after her, but decided against it. She was mad enough already, and he didn't want to risk making things worse, so he just floated where he was and stared at the spot where Hanna had once been.

As the officer was about to swim off, he noticed Riku and swam over to talk to him. "Oh, Riku-Chan you just missed the captain."

"I overheard your conversation. I'm truly sorry Hanna yelled at you, she is just really stressed. I have a feeling she'll be acting like a snapping turtle till Princess Karen and Renae-Sama are found."

"Don't worry about it." As Riku spoke to the officer, Hanna remembered she needed something from her room and swam back the other way. When she saw the officer talking to Riku, she hid behind a wall so they wouldn't see her. "Honestly, I don't know how you put up with that attitude of hers."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you know, the way she's always so stubborn about things, especially when something's in her best interest."

"I guess."

The officer nodded. "And you know she can be pretty rude when she's not talking to royalty."

"I suppose that can be true."

Hanna couldn't believe her ears. Did Riku really think that way about her? Completely forgetting about what she'd gone back for, Hanna swam back off down the halls. She couldn't bear listening anymore. Just before she had swum out of earshot, she heard the officer say one more thing. "If you ask me, she's not worth the trouble. I mean, she's OK as a captain, but as a mermaid she lacks all social graces. I don't know what you see in-"

"OKAY! Enough. Is. Enough! I don't care what you think, but to me Hanna is the most amazing and wonderful mermaid in all the oceans! I won't have you insulting her! Sure she can be rude and stubborn, but you have no idea what she has been through! If I ever hear you insulting her again, you'll have a lot more than just being yelled at to worry about."

The officer floated there dumbfounded as Riku swam off. He'd never been yelled at before, especially by a lower ranking member of the guard. As he thought about it, he realized the things he had said were out of line. "Weird, why did I say those things?"

As Riku swam away from the officer, he began to search for Hanna. He searched every hall of the palace, and when he did track her down she was sitting on the third floor balcony staring out over the kingdom.

When Hanna realized Riku was there, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't want him to know she'd listened in, but hearing Riku say those things had shattered her heart.

Riku swam over to Hanna and sat down next to her. He quickly noticed that she had been crying, and the glad expression that had been on his face faded and was replaced with a look of concern and worry. "Hanna are you okay? Did something happen?"

Hanna turned away from Riku as she couldn't even look at him. He had been the one to open her heart back up, and now he was also responsible for breaking it. "I'm fine." Her voice was cold, but Riku could still tell she was hurting.

"Hanna, please tell me what's wrong. I just want to help."

As Riku reached out to comfort Hanna, she quickly pulled away from him. "I said I'm fine. Like you care anyway."

"Of course I care, Hanna why would you say something like that?"

Hanna couldn't hold back any more. Hearing Riku talking about her faults like that had truly hurt her. "So which do you hate worse, huh? My stubbornness, or the way I talk to people? If I'm such a horrible mermaid, then why would you even bother?" After saying her bit, Hanna swam away, leaving Riku dumbfounded.

For a moment, Riku just sat there on the balcony stunned. But quickly reality came crashing down on him. Hanna had heard his conversation with the officer, or at least part of it. He knew then and there he had to tell Hanna the rest of it, so he quickly pushed himself up off the balcony and swam after her.

Hanna swam off to her room and closed the door. She then laid down on her bed and clung to her pillow, trying her hardest to forget about Riku.

Riku quickly reached Hanna's room and knocked on the door. He hoped that she wouldn't ignore him. He needed to explain everything to her. What she had heard was only part of the conversation and it had caused a terrible misunderstanding, one he wanted and needed to fix right away.

When Hanna heard Riku knock, she didn't answer. She'd heard enough from him already, and couldn't bring herself to let him break her heart a second time. She cursed herself for allowing Riku to get close to her. True, he was the one who saved her from Ursula, yet that didn't seem to matter. He had convinced her that love was not a lie, but that in itself must have been the lie. She wouldn't let herself fall for it again.

When Hanna didn't come to answer the door, Riku let out a heartbroken sigh. But he quickly decided that he wasn't going to give up. If Hanna wasn't going to open the door for him, then he was just going to have to speak to her through it. "Hanna, I know you're upset with me, but I am going to explain things to you. What you heard was only part of my conversation with that officer. Yes, I agreed with him that you are stubborn and rude sometimes, but I also told him that I love you.

I told him I think you are amazing. To me, you are most beautiful and wonderful mermaid in all the seven seas. Your flaws are what make you Hanna, and I love you because of them. Without them you wouldn't be the mermaid I know and adore. I wouldn't trade you for anything. I'm sorry I upset you, and I'll try to be more open and honest with you. That is if you'll let me. But if you don't want anything to do with me from now on, I'll understand and I'll leave you alone. I promise."


	24. Chapter 24

Miyu walked towards the front entrance with her usual smile. Someone had told her there was a visitor at the door, and since Tsubasa was busy it was her job to greet their guest. "Welcome to our castle. My name is Miyu, and I am the head maid here. What is it that I can do for you?"

"I'm sorry to bother you like this, but I'm looking for my little sister. Her name is Karen, and she has long light brown hair, and she-" As Seiru gave Miyu a brief description of Karen, fatigue from the past several days had begun to catch up to him. Unable to take any more, Seiru passed out and fell to the worried Miyu's feet."

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Miyu called for one of the guards to take Seiru to the castle doctor. After they took Seiru away, Miyu began walking towards the dining room. He said his sister's name was Karen, could he possibly have meant Karen-San? When Miyu reached the dining room, she saw Tsubasa enjoying lunch with Karen and Renae. "Please forgive the interruption Prince Tsubasa."

Tsubasa stopped his conversation with the two girls and turned his full attention to Miyu. Once he noticed her distraught expression his whole body took on a feel of seriousness. His smile fell, his shoulders became very stiff, and he straightened in his chair. "Miyu what has happened?"

"A young man fainted at the door. He said he was looking for his younger sister. I believe he may be Karen-San's brother." Renae found herself immediately rising out from her chair. "I had one of the guards take him to see the doctor." As Miyu spoke, Renae ran out the dining room and went straight to see Seiru. She had been worried something like this might happen.

Karen rose from chair swiftly, but then stopped herself. She didn't know whether she should go see Seiru or not. She was indeed worried about him, but she knew if she saw him he would try to make her return to Akua with him. So she simply hovered near the dining table, a look of sadness and concern on her face.

Tsubasa quickly noticed Karen's hesitation and walked over to her. "You should go see him. I can tell you are worried about him, so please go and see him. I'll be right here waiting for you." Karen smiled at Tsubasa. His kindness was so abundant and he always knew how to put Karen's mind at ease. She nodded, gave him a quick hug, and then went to see Seiru.

When Renae reached the infirmary, she saw Seiru lying unconscious on one of the beds. As the doctor greeted her, she noticed Seiru begin to wake up. She walked over to the bed and leaned over him as his eyes slowly began to open.

At first, Seiru could just barely make out Renae's silhouette. He was sure he'd passed out on land, so how could she be there? Seiru blinked a few times, and as his vision became clearer, so did Renae's face in front of him. "Renae?" Realizing that Renae was really there, Seiru quickly sat up. "Renae?! What are you doing here?"

Renae frowned at Seiru. She couldn't tell him everything with the doctor in the room. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later. You pushed yourself too hard again, didn't you?" Renae was about to reach out to take Seiru's hand, but stopped when she heard Karen in the hallway.

Seiru looked behind Renae and saw Karen lingering in the doorway. "Karen!" Seiru quickly got up and pulled Karen into a tight embrace. "I'm so glad, I was so worried about you. I was afraid something might have happened to you."

Karen didn't return the hug or do anything in response. She just stood there, rigid in her older brother's arms. She didn't know what to do. Having Seiru there changed things even more than having Renae around had. She was actually rather fearful of how different things might become now that Seiru had found her.

Renae frowned when she heard Karen's thoughts, but Seiru couldn't hear what she could. "You have no idea how worried everyone's been. Are you alright?"

Karen simply nodded and then stepped out of her brother's embrace. She was glad to see that he wasn't harmed, but she just couldn't stay in the room with him any longer. She quickly gave him a half hearted smile and left. She couldn't be near him right now. She knew he wouldn't understand what she had done, she also knew he would try to make her return home, which was something she couldn't do.

"Karen?" Seiru couldn't understand why Karen was acting so distant towards him.

Renae knew Seiru wouldn't know what was going on, and decided it best to tell him everything. "Seiru, we need to talk." The doctor left the two of them alone and closed the door behind him. "I'm afraid Karen-Chan has no intention of returning to Akua. To be honest, she didn't even want to see me at first. I'm sure she only came just now because she was worried about you."

Seiru was confused by Renae's words. "She didn't even talk to me."

"She can't. You see Karen-Chan knew that if she just came up to the surface, you would come after her and bring her back. So she met with someone who could turn her human for real and came here. In order to do so, she traded away her voice. I also met with that person, and they gave me a way to also become human, and to hear Karen-Chan's thoughts."

Nothing Renae was saying made any sense to him. "What are you saying? You can't go back to being a mermaid? Why would you-"

"I had to find Karen-Chan." Renae fought back the tears threatening to run down her cheeks. "I thought that I might have a better chance of getting Karen-Chan to go home. That if she might listen to anyone, it would be me. But when I found her, I realized that nothing could be said to make her want to return. She is very happy here, more so than I have seen her in a long time. At the same time, I'm still worried about her. As much as I want to go back with you Seiru, I just can't leave Karen-Chan."

"I still don't understand." Seiru reached out to touch Renae, but as soon as his fingers touched her cheek, he felt a strong shock and was forced to pull away. "Ow! What the heck?"

"What's wrong Seiru?" Renae reached out to Seiru, but he pulled away again as soon as she touched him. It was then that she knew what Arsulu meant. "Is... is this what she meant? Like Karen-Chan, I also had to pay a price to become human. I was told that my price was my happiness with the one I loved, but I thought it meant I just couldn't see you anymore." Renae couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She never imagined that this would be her price.

"Then, I can't touch you?" Seiru couldn't believe what was happening. Losing his sister was hard enough, but to lose Renae at the same time was unbearable. Even if he came to see her, they still couldn't be together.

Renae couldn't believe what was happening. The reality of not being able to be with Seiru had finally caught up to her. It was such a heartbreaking feeling. "I'm so sorry." Unable to bear it anymore, Renae ran past Seiru and down the hall. Seiru just stood there for a while, completely dumbfounded, but then his mind caught up to him and he ran after Renae.

As Seiru and Renae talked and learned the true price Renae had paid, Karen rejoined Tsubasa in the dining hall. When he saw her he quickly got up out of his seat and came to stand by her side. "Is your brother alright?" Karen simply nodded and Tsubasa let out a sigh of relief. He was overjoyed to know Karen's older brother was not in any harm, but quickly his relief turned into sorrow. Now that Karen's brother had found her, he began to wonder if Karen would return to her homeland with him. He quickly realized he didn't want that, he knew he was being selfish, but he hoped Karen would stay with him forever.

He had truly come to care for Karen in a way he had never cared about anyone before. He had so hoped that she would stay with him, and that she would always make the castle a more enjoyable place for him and everyone else. As these thoughts filled Tsubasa's head he didn't notice Karen moving so she could stand in front of him, he didn't notice her change of position until he felt her hands resting gently on his biceps. When he felt her touch, he was easily pulled out of his contemplation's and brought back to reality. For a moment, the two just stared into each other's eyes, and then slowly they began to lean towards each other and their eyes fell shut. They could feel each other's breath ghosting over their lips and they could feel just how intimate the moment had become.


	25. Chapter 25

For a moment the two stood still feeling the intimacy growing around them, and then finally their lips touched. It was a simple kiss. Nothing more than a brief touch of lips on lips. It didn't last long, but it hadn't needed to. The simpleness of the moment was what made it special. But before the two could truly enjoy their shared moment, Karen began to feel strange. Suddenly she could no longer keep her balance. She fell to the floor and stared in shock as her long, slender legs began to turn into a beautiful pink tail.

Tsubasa was as equally shocked as Karen, but before he could even begin to question what was going on, he heard the doors of the dining room burst wide open. He stared in fear as a man he had never seen before entered the room. Tsubasa didn't know how, but he instantly realized this man was not to be trusted, and he also knew that no matter what he had to protect Karen from him.

Karen knew she had seen the man's face somewhere before. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized it was Ketsueki, one of the Krahsians who mernapped Renae. Ketsueki seemed unconcerned with Tsubasa, and kept his attention on Karen. "I have to admit, you had me worried for a moment there. So much for true love, huh Princess?"

Karen tried to yell at him, tried to scream and tell him he was wrong, but it seemed that even though she was a mermaid again her voice had not returned. She watched in fear as Ketsueki walked closer to her, but before he got too close Tsubasa stepped in front of her and pulled his body into a fighting position.

Ketsueki just scoffed at Tsubasa. "Oh please, are all Princes this stupid?" Ketsueki punched Tsubasa hard in the stomach and kicked him to the side. He took a moment to smirk at Tsubasa before making his way over to Karen. "Now, to take you back to the ocean."

Karen stared in horror at the man looming above her. She knew she had to get away from him, but it seemed hopeless. Without her legs she couldn't run away, and now that she had her tail back it was practically impossible to crawl away. It seemed like she was doomed,as if she had no choice but to go with Ketsueki.

Ketsueki picked Karen up and headed for the door. He stopped one more time to sneer at Tsubasa, who was trying to pick himself up. "Serves you right for trying to take my Karen from me." With that, Ketsueki walked out the door and started down the hall.

As Ketsueki walked off with Karen, Renae's legs had also transformed back into a tail. She fell to the floor and Seiru ran up to her. "Renae, what happened?" Seiru tried to reach out for Renae, but was once again repelled when he tried to touch her. They then heard a familiar, sadistic sounding laugh from around the corner.

From the shadows appeared Yari, his usual smirk once more on his lips and the sound of his laughter slowly fading away. "So much for true love I suppose. Now, if you'll be ever so kind, I'll be taking Renae back to the sea with me now."

Seiru stepped between Renae and Yari. "No you won't! Renae doesn't want to go with you, so just leave her alone!"

"Oh look, the little prince thinks he actually stands a chance, that is so cute." Yari's smirk grew even wider as he taunted Seiru, and the next thing that the young prince knew he was being flung into the stone walls of the castle.

"Seiru!" Renae watched in horror as Yari tossed Seiru around. He'd hit the wall hard enough to leave a dent, and Seiru could feel blood trickling down the back of his neck. "Stop it! Leave him alone!"

Yari ignored Renae's cries and shouting and continued to toss Seiru across the room. He did this until he was sure Seiru was too weak to fight back, and then finally tossed him across the floor to the other side of the room. He then walked over to Renae and picked her up.

Renae struggled to get free from Yari. "No! Put me down! Seiru!" Seiru tried to get up, but it was no use. His energy had left him, and his whole body now ached from being tossed around by Yari.

Yari ignored Renae's struggling and continued to walk through the halls of the castle till he was outside. Once he was outside, he walked down a hidden staircase down to the beach and joined Ketsueki, who was slowly walking into the sea.

Renae was shocked when she saw Karen in Ketsueki's arms. She knew Yari was after her, but she never imagined they'd be after Karen too. "Karen-Chan! Let her go!"

"We are just bringing you both back where you belong. After all Princess Karen failed at receiving true love's kiss."

"How did you know about that? And while we're at it, how did you get out of prison?!"

Ketsueki smirked as they submerged under water. "You see, we were never actually in prison. Those were copies made by the Sea Witch."

"The Sea Witch?" Renae didn't understand what was going on, but it was now clear they had an accomplice somewhere helping them.

Neither Yari or Ketsueki answered Renae's question, they just continued to swim further and further down into the water. Once they reached a deserted and rather dark part of the ocean, they stopped, it seemed as if they were waiting for someone to arrive.

Renae and Karen stared in shock as Arsulu swam up to them. "Oh my, what do we have here?"

"You're that mermaid who turned Karen-Chan and I into humans! Please, you have to get away, these two are dangerous!"

Arsulu smirked at Renae. "Maybe so, but they happen to be working for me."

Karen wanted to gasp in horror, but her voice was still gone, and she was now starting to worry that she would never get her voice back. With that worry added on top of the fear she was already feeling, she became panicked and felt the desire to cry.

Arsulu swam up to Karen and pinched her cheek. "You fools swam right into my trap. I knew you'd be in a hurry to find your 'true love' and simply pick the first human to show you kindness. And now, you'll pay the price."

Karen was confused beyond belief she didn't understand what was happening. Arsulu had been so kind when they first met, but now she was acting cruel, and spiteful. The things she was saying made Karen feel disgusted with herself, and she became fearful when Arsulu told her she had to pay a price. She wished she could scream for help, but no matter how hard she tried, no sound would come.

Arsulu turned her attention to Yari and Ketsueki. "You two know what to do next. I've already sent Flotsam and Jetsam to deliver the message, so make sure you remember the plan. I have to go see to yet another princess, so make sure you don't screw it up." Arsulu left, leaving Karen and Renae confused. They didn't know what Arsulu was planning, but they were sure it was nothing good.

As Karen and Renae watched in horror as Arsulu swam off and left them with Yari and Ketsueki, up on land Tsubasa was finally regaining his strength. It was a struggle to stand due to his injuries but he knew no matter what he had to find Karen and save her from that strange man who had captured her.

As Tsubasa made his way to the hallway, he noticed Seiru stumbling down the hall while clinging to the wall as a crutch. Tsubasa remembered seeing Seiru before when he was with Karen, and knew right away he was her brother.

Tsubasa slowly walked over to Seiru, and when he came face to face with the other man he noticed Seiru was even more injured than he was. "You're Karen-San's brother, aren't you? What is going on, and what happened to you that caused you to become so incredibly injured?"

Seiru recognized Tsubasa's face and remembered he was the one Karen saved from drowning. "You know Karen? Where is she? I have to find her."

"The last thing I remember Karen-San was taken away by a strange man with silver hair and eyes."

"What?!" Seiru never imagined they would go after Karen too. Hearing that she had also been captured made Seiru that much more determined to get back to the ocean.

As Seiru started down the hall again, Tsubasa began to ask more questions. "What exactly is going on? Who was that man? What did he want with Karen-San, and why did Karen-San's legs turn into a tail?"

Seiru was surprised to hear Karen's legs had turned back into a tail. Even if the potion she and Renae took had worn off, Karen should still be able to walk on land. "I don't know exactly what's going on, just that Karen and Renae are in danger. I have to get back and look for them." Seiru continued walking until he reached the entrance of the castle. After that, it was just a short walk through town before getting back to the ocean.

Tsubasa watched as Seiru walked out of the castle, and towards the village. He desperately wanted to go after him, but he also knew he had to stay and take care of things. It was his princely duty after all.

Seiru continued making his way through town and towards the beach. Every once in awhile someone would stop to ask if he was alright, but Seiru brushed them off and kept going. When he finally reached the beach, he got undressed and went back in the water where his legs turned back into a tail.

Finding it easier to move now that he was back in the water, Seiru started to head back to the palace. He knew he wasn't strong enough to face Yari and Ketsueki on his own, and that he'd need help from the guards to save Karen and Renae. As he swam, he saw two eels swimming towards him and stopped.

The two eels reached him and smiled in a predatory manner. They introduced themselves as Flotsam and Jetsam, and told Seiru they had an important message to give him. "This message comes from the Krahsian brothers." Said Flotsam. "If you ever want to see your sister or your friend ever again, bring them the scepter of Akua." Followed Jetsam, and then together the two eels swam off and over a distant ridge.

Seiru couldn't believe what was happening. He swam back to the palace as fast as he could and told Syaoran what was going on, leaving out the parts about the surface. The two of them swam off along with Hanna and some palace guards to where the eels had said to go, bringing along the Scepter of Akua. They had no intention of handing it over, but at the same time Karen and Renae were in danger.

Karen and Renae had both tried to get away from Ketsueki and Yari themselves but no matter how hard they struggled the two Krahsians wouldn't loosen their grips. It seemed hopeless, but together Karen and Renae decided to stop using brute force and use their brains against the two brothers. But before they could even begin to form a plan, Karen heard and then saw her father's guards swimming towards them.

Renae tried once more to swim to Seiru, but Yari held his grip firm. Seeing Karen and Renae being held against their will angered Seiru, but when he tried to swim over to them, something invisible stopped him.

Karen was shocked when her brother was suddenly stopped. It didn't make any sense to her, there was nothing there. He should have been able to swim right to them. But when he tried again the same thing happened. It was as if some invisible wall prevented him from getting to them.

Hanna urged Seiru to stay back, and then confirmed that the invisible wall was there. "I don't know what game you two are playing at, but you better release them at once."

Yari just laughed at Hanna. He knew that thanks to the protective wall, the mermaid and her fellow guards could do nothing to him and his brother. "What are you going to do mermaid? As you can see, you can't harm us."

Hanna glared at Yari. "You can't stay in there forever. Sooner or later you'll have to leave, and then you're mine."

"That's what you think mermaid. Now hand over the scepter already!"

Not willing to hand over the scepter, Syaoran raised it in the water and blasted at the invisible wall, making sure not to aim at Karen or Renae. His aim didn't matter though, as the attack didn't seem to do anything.

Yari and Ketsueki both laughed victoriously at Syaoran. Basking in the knowledge that nothing he or his guards did could break through the wall of magic. "The only way you'll get your daughter and her friend back is if you hand over the scepter willingly."

Renae pleaded with Syaoran not to hand over the scepter, but it was starting to look like he had no other choice. As she saw him hold the scepter out, she could hear Karen also trying to scream for him to stop. Suddenly, Renae could no longer hear Karen's thoughts, and instead heard something else.

Suddenly Karen's screams were no longer just in her mind. Her voice had somehow returned, and now her pleading could be heard by all around her. "Father don't hand over the scepter! Please don't do it!"

Seiru, Renae, and the Krahsians were all shocked to hear Karen speak. Hanna, whose hand had still been on the invisible wall, felt it disappear when Karen yelled. Taking advantage of the Krahsian's confusion, Hanna darted forward and broke their grip on Karen and Renae.

Once Karen was free from Ketsueki's hold on her, she immediately grabbed onto Renae's wrist and with all her strength swam as fast as she could away from the Krahsian brothers and over to her father and Seiru.

The guards formed a protective circle around Renae and the royal family, and Hanna stared down Yari and Ketsueki. Ketsueki was starting to get nervous now that the protective barrier appeared to be gone. "What now Nii-San?"

Yari knew that now that the protective wall was gone, they were no match for the guards. After all, there were outnumbered. But he knew that thanks to their tails they could easily out swim all of the them. "Now brother, we leave."

When Yari and Ketsueki swam off, Hanna called out to the guards as she swam after them. "Half of you stay here, and the other half follow me!" Per Hanna's instructions, half of the guards swam after Yari and Ketsueki with Hanna, while the other half stayed to protect the royal family in case the two Krahsians returned.

Once Hanna and the guards she had taken with her were gone, Karen turned her attention back to her father. She was still a little afraid of him, but all the anger that she had towards him had faded, and she knew she had to apologize. "I've caused you so much trouble, can you even forgive me?"

Syaoran wasn't sure what to say. With everything that had happened, and with what Sakura had said to him, he still hadn't sorted out all his feelings towards the situation. So instead, he just pulled Karen into a hug. Above all else, she was still his precious daughter, and seeing her captured had scared him. Right now, all that mattered was that she was safe, and he hoped his feelings would reach her.

Karen returned her father's hug, and hid her face in his shoulder. She had been so worried her father would yell at her, but now being in his arms made her realize that even though he had overreacted, he still loved her and always would.

"Let's just leave it at that and go home, alright?"

Karen simply nodded and smiled gently up at her father. She knew they still had a lot to work through before they could truly understand each other, but she was happy to just let things lie for now and head home.

Seiru and Renae swam up to each other. They were still a bit nervous, not knowing if they would be able to touch each other. They reached their hands out slowly, and as their fingers touched without any kind of reaction they realized that the spell on Renae too had been broken. Seiru quickly pulled Renae close and the two shared an intimate embrace. "Thank goodness, I was so afraid I'd lost you."

****As the two reveled in the fact that they could finally hold one another once again, they didn't notice the silent tears that Karen shed as she watched the intimate moment. She had wished to share that intimacy with Tsubasa, but it seemed that all along she had mistaken the feelings of gratitude and friendship she had for him as true romantic love.


	26. Chapter 26

Syaoran sat in the throne room with Karen, Seiru and Renae. Each of them told their side of what had happened in the past few weeks, each leaving out the parts about the surface. Karen and Renae both described the Mermaid they saw with Ketsueki and Yari, and Syaoran connected her with Hanna's story. They also told him that Ketsueki had mentioned someone called the "Sea Witch", and knew it had to be Ursula. He then decided it was time to tell them about her. "From what you've told me, it sounds like that mermaid you saw may be the same one who was controlling Hanna-San a while back. Have I ever told you about my sister, Ursula?"

Karen remembered hearing about Ursula from her mother, but Syaoran had never in her lifetime mentioned her himself. She didn't know why, but she felt like she was about to find out. "No father, you haven't."

"Well you see, Atlantica was once split into two kingdoms. Triton, who is the oldest of us, ruled over one half while Ursula ruled the other. However, she was rather cruel to her people and did some very horrible things to them. It got so bad, that we had to banish her. Since then she's been out for revenge. We don't know exactly why yet, but lately she's taken to trying to steal the Trident of Atlantica, and most recently the Scepter of Akua."

Karen was shocked by her father's story. She had no idea someone so cruel could be a member of her family. At the same time, she was also confused by why Syaoran was telling this story now. "But father, what does she have to do with what happened to me and Renae-Chan?"

"Ursula also has magic. She has a shell that was given to her by our father that lets her use strong magic spells. She can even change her appearance. Hanna-San mentioned that the mermaid she met transformed into an Octopian, and described her to look just like Ursula. The mermaid you met was no doubt Ursula in disguise."

Karen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own aunt had tricked and used her to try and accomplish some evil scheme. She felt sick to her stomach. She had trusted Arsulu, or rather Ursula, and had nearly caused the collapse of her whole kingdom. "Father, I am so sorry. I acted so foolishly, and trusted someone so blindly. I should never have believed she was trying to help me."

"Don't blame yourself Karen." Syaoran thought about how Ursula was in her youth. Even with how mean she was, if someone had told him back then just how she'd turn out, he still wouldn't have believed them. "Ursula always had a bit of a mean streak, but even we as her own family never imagined things would come to this. It seems she's willing to do anything to get what she wants."

Karen still couldn't believe everything she was hearing. The fact that a member of her own family could be so twisted and cruel was something she could never have imagined. It was truly a horrific thought.

Syaoran warned the young merfolk to be careful, and they went their separate ways. As Syaoran swam out of the throne room, he spotted Sakura down the hall. The two of them stared at each other for a brief moment, but didn't say anything to each other. Syaoran then looked away from Sakura and continued forward, still not saying anything as he passed her.

Karen had stopped and hid behind a pillar as she swam to her room. She didn't know why she did it, but she felt like she needed to keep an eye on her father for an extra moment to see if he was truly okay. But when she saw the strange interaction between her parents she knew something was wrong, so she swam out from behind her hiding place and over to her mother.

"Karen, I was just coming to find you." Sakura pulled Karen into a gentle embrace. "I'm so glad you're home, I was so worried about you."

Karen returned her mother's embrace and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm very glad to be home mother, but I couldn't help but notice that something seems to have happened between you and father."

A look of sadness crossed Sakura's face, but she quickly shook it off and smiled at her daughter. "Now don't you worry sweetie. You father's just being his usual, stubborn self. Everything's fine dear."

Karen didn't quite believe her mother, but since Sakura didn't seem to want to talk about what was going on, Karen decided to let the issue drop for now. She was worried about her parents, and she knew that no matter what she had to get them speaking to one another again. "Alright, if you say so mother."

Sakura kissed Karen on the forehead before swimming off. She knew Karen was already going through alot right now, and she didn't want to add onto her daughter's worries. Besides, what was going on between her and Syaoran, was just between her and and Syaoran.

Karen watched as her mother swam off, and concern filled every fiber of her being. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew it was up to her to set things right. After all, it was the right thing to do after making her parents worry about her so much.

Knowing she'd need to know what their fight was about before she could fix it, Karen decided to find someone who might know. When she thought about it, Renae had seemed like she had something else to tell her when they were on land, but never did. Karen decided to find Renae and ask her if she knew anything.

When she found Renae, she decided to be blunt and ask her straightforward if she knew what had happened between her parents. She wasn't going to beat around the coral this time. She needed to know what was going on, and she needed to know that instance so she could go right ahead with her plan to fix it.

Renae looked down at her fins as she told Karen what was going on. "I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you before but with everything going on I just couldn't. You see not long after you left, O-Sama and Oujo-Sama had a fight."

Karen didn't blame Renae for not telling her about her parent's fight earlier, but now she just needed to find out what they argued about so she could go about getting them to forgive one another. "Renae-Chan, do you happen to know what the fight was about?"

"About you I'm afraid. Oujo-Sama was upset when your father destroyed your collection, and blamed him for when you swam away from home. From what I understand, they haven't spoken to each other since."

Karen felt her stomach drop and she became very pale. She couldn't believe it. She was the reason her parent's fought? It was information she had not been expecting, and now that she had heard it she felt horribly ill. But she knew she had to fix everything, and she had to do it fast.

"Are you alright Karen-Chan?"

Karen simply nodded and then thanked Renae for her help before she excused herself and swam off to her room. She needed to think of a plan she could put into action right away. If she didn't, her parents might never speak to each other ever again.

As Karen tried to think of something she could do, her thoughts were interrupted with a knock on the door. "Come in."

As Karen called out, Seiru opened the door and swam inside. When he saw Karen's distraught face, he forgot all about what he was going to say to her. "Everything alright Karen?"

"Mother and father have stopped speaking to one another, and it's all my fault Sei Onii-Chan."

Seiru wasn't sure how Karen found out about their parents' fight, but that didn't seem to be important. Rather than ask, Seiru held out a piece of parchment. "Well, I might have something that might cheer you up. It's a letter from Aquata." Seiru handed Karen the letter. "I really think you should read it. It's got something in it about Ariel that you might like to read."

As Karen read through the letter from their cousin a large smile appeared on her face and her eyes practically glowed with happiness. She looked up at Seiru and then giggled. She then cleared her throat and decided to read the letter out loud so things could really sink in.

"My dearest cousins Seiru and Karen, a lot has happened in Atlantica in the last three days. At first the changes we experienced brought great sadness to the kingdom. But rest assured that now the whole kingdom is filled with joy. Ariel was recently married to a very wonderful prince named Eric, and now they have started a new life together in his kingdom. But here is the real twist. Prince Eric is a human prince, and father was actually the one who helped Ariel and Eric be together. It seems that because Eric risked his life to save Ariel from Ursula the sea witch, and even destroyed Ursula, father has changed his opinion on humans. I'm sure this will make you very happy Karen. Oh, but before I forget to ask, Adella wants to know if Seiru finally told Renae he loves her. If he hasn't I can assure you that next time you visit, Adella will have a few choice words for him. Anyway, I just thought you should be informed of all the on goings in Atlantica. With lots of love, your cousin Aquata."

While the last part turned Seiru's face red, seeing the smile on Karen's face made him smile too.

"Sei Onii-Chan, we have to take this letter to father right away!"

Seiru nodded. He hadn't been sure of them at first, but Seiru had seen the human's kindness for himself. This letter from Aquata could very well be the first step in helping their father see it too.

Together, Karen and Seiru swam from her room to the throne room as fast as their fins could carry them, and when they reached the throne room they pushed the large seashell doors open wide. Then with great swiftness they swam right up to their father who was busy going over documents with Sora.

Syaoran was surprised to see Karen and Seiru suddenly swim in. But the pile of work he was backed up on kept him from asking them why they were there.

Karen swam right up to her father and stopped him from putting his ink pen down on the document he was about to sign. She needed his full attention on her, and if she had to interrupt his work then she was going to do it. "Father, Sei Onii-Chan and I have a letter you need to read, and you need to read it right now."

"I'm sorry Karen, but now isn't a good time." Syaoran brushed her off and continued back to what he was doing. "I'll read it later, promise."

"You are going to read your niece's letter right now! This letter has important information about events that occurred in Atlantica, and I am not leaving this throne room till you read it!" Syaoran finally took the letter and started reading it. Karen was so excited for him to finish. She hoped this might help her father give the humans a second chance, and then she could share their wonderful world with him. As Syaoran read the letter, something Karen hadn't expected started to happen. She noticed Syaoran's brow furrowing, and an angry look spread across his face.

"Karen, I would have thought you would know better than this. Forging a letter from your cousin is one thing, but to make up such things about some human, and then about Ursula... I really don't know what to say." Karen tried to protest that the letter wasn't fake, but Syaoran wouldn't listen. Seiru was about to swim in and defend her, but he stopped when he heard another voice.

"I'm ashamed of you little brother. To think that you would jump to the conclusion that your own daughter would do such a horrible thing as forge a letter. I'll have you know I was there when Aquata wrote that letter, and I was there to witness the union of my Ariel and Prince Eric."

Everyone was shocked to see Triton swim in, followed by his six eldest daughters. They were all quick to notice that Ariel was not among them. Syaoran sat there in shock as Triton went on.

"It is also true that Eric defeated Ursula. He rammed a sunken ship into her, and thanks to him I was able to get my Trident back and regain my throne. He not only saved Ariel, but all of Atlantica. It seems I let regret and anger rule my judgement, and it turns out my judgement was wrong all along."

Syaoran couldn't think of anything to say. Everything his brother was telling him just seemed so unreal. When he was younger, he had always hoped this day would come, but now that it was here it was completely different.

"Eric and the people of his kingdom are kind and are doing everything they can to make Ariel comfortable in her new home. They are teaching her all the things she needs to know to live a peaceful life on land, and Ariel promised to send us letters with Flounder's help."

Syaoran tried to take in everything Triton was telling him, but it was starting to be too much for him. He then excused himself and swam off on his own. He needed to think things through, and let Triton's words sink in.

After Syaoran left the Akuanian throne room, Triton was quick to follow. Karen and Seiru weren't sure if he left to find Syaoran or not, but the two young merfolk weren't able to dwell on this question for long, because the next thing they knew they were being surrounded by their cousins.

The first thing they did was ask Karen questions about where she'd been. They heard she disappeared long before Ariel did, and had been worried about her.

Karen was a little nervous at first, but after taking a deep calming breath she began to tell her cousins all about what had happened, and unlike with Syaoran she told them even the parts about the surface and being on land.

They were all shocked to hear what had happened. Not only that, but it seemed their two cousins could go on land on their own. They started wishing they could go on land to so they could visit Ariel whenever they wanted.

Karen grew silent once she finished her story and simply floated there as her cousins stared at her. She knew what she did was rather foolish, but after retelling her story she truly saw the error of her ways.

Not noticing Karen's sadness, Seiru eyed Aquata questioningly. "So, if you were coming to Akua anyway, why did you bother with the letter?"

"Actually, coming to Akua was a last minute decision father made. He thought that Uncle Syaoran might not believe what was in the letter, so he decided we better come to make sure he did."

Andrina's eyes became bright as she added to her sister's explanation. "And we all decided to come too. Aquata's the only one who's been to Akua before, and we wanted to see it too."

Arista nodded along with her other sisters before adding her own information. "Plus we all want to meet Renae, since only Aquata knows her."

Adella didn't take long before adding her own bit. "She's not as pretty as me, right?"

Aquata simply rolled her eyes, and chose to ignore her younger sister's foolish comment. She knew from years of experience that no amount of scolding would teach Adella to change her self centered ways, so she simply decided to quickly change the topic. "Anyway where is Renae? I would love to see her again."

By the time his cousins had all finished talking about him and Renae, Seiru's face had turned completely red. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

Karen couldn't help but smile at her brother. His bright red face was rather amusing, and she had to repress a chortle before she decided to get her cousin's attention back on her. "I'm sure she is in her room, I'll show you the way."

Seiru and the girls all swam towards Renae's room to see if they could find her. Seiru just hoped they wouldn't do or say anything weird.

Once they reached Renae's room, Karen swam forward and gently knocked on the door. For a moment there was no response, but then they all heard a gentle voice tell them to come in.

When they all swam in, they saw Renae sitting at her vanity. It seemed as if she had been brushing her hair. She was surprised to see such a large group. "Oh my, what's this?"

Karen swam over to Renae and helped her get up off her chair. "Renae-Chan I'm sure you remember Aquata, but these are our other cousins. They just arrived and insisted on meeting you."

Renae got up and greeted them. "It's very nice to meet you. My name is Renae."

Arista and and Alana both introduced themselves as politely as Renae had, and Alana told her it was a pleasure to finally meet her, after hearing such wonderful things about her.

Adella, Attina, and Andrina also introduced themselves, and Adella muttered something about how pretty Renae was.

Karen simply giggled at Adella's mumbled comment and then turned back to Renae. She was very glad to see things going well between her cousins and best friend, and decided it would be wonderful if they all spent the day together. "Girls, would you like a tour of Akua? Sei Onii-Chan, Renae-Chan, and I know all the best and most exciting places to go to in the kingdom." The girls all said yes, and then they all went for a swim around Akua.

While the girls went on their tour, Sakura swam to a room at the farthest end of the palace. The room had been meant for her use only, which even Syaoran respected. Because of the privacy of the room, Sakura had taken to keeping her own collection in the room. They were all human things that she had collected with Syaoran when they were children, which she had secreted away after the accident. Syaoran's opinion of them might have changed, but to Sakura they were still precious things. Among Sakura's precious treasures was a picture of Athena painted on a shell. Sakura picked the picture up and stared at it for a moment. "Oh Athena, what should I do? It seems Syaoran and I just keep drifting further and further apart. I wish you were here, you always knew just the right thing to say." Sakura held the picture of Athena close as a single tear fell down her cheek. She then started to sing the song she and her friend had written together.

"Oh the waves roll low,  
And the waves roll high and it goes  
Under a bright blue endless sky  
Waves try to measure  
The days that we treasure  
Wave hello, and wave goodbye"

Sakura stopped singing when she heard a knock on the door. She couldn't imagine who it could be, but she knew she couldn't let them see her collection. She was the queen after all, breaking her husband's own rule. She cracked the door open and saw none other than Syaoran floating in front of her. She was surprised to see him, and hoped that he was there so that they could make up. Sakura swiftly swam out of the room and shut the door before he could see inside.

Syaoran was confused by Sakura's behavior, but decided not to dwell on it too much. Sakura had always been secretive about that room, and he was there for something far more important. "Sakura, can I talk to you?" Sakura noticed that something seemed different about Syaoran. as if something had changed inside of him. "I wanted to tell you... No, I need to tell you that I'm sorry. When you got hurt, I was so afraid I might have lost you. I let that fear turn into anger and hatred, and I directed it all towards the humans. You were right, I never should have let things go as far as they did, and we nearly lost Karen because of it. Can you ever forgive me Sakura?"

Tears started to form in Sakura's eyes. She had always hoped this day would come, and now that it had it seemed like a miracle. The Syaoran that she once knew; the Syaoran she used to go on adventures with and was always smiling; the Syaoran that she had fallen in love with so long ago had finally returned to her. Sakura flung her arms around Syaoran. "Of course, I told you didn't I? I love you Syaoran, and nothing will ever change that."

Syaoran wrapped his arms around Sakura and held her tenderly. "I love you too Sakura. I'm sorry for not noticing how much you were hurting."


	27. Chapter 27

A number of days had past since Karen's return, and the arrival of the Atlantican royal family's arrival in Akua. The whole kingdom was overjoyed by the return of their princess. Everyone was so happy, that Syaoran decided to hold a princess ball in Karen's honor, and he invited everyone in Akua to be a part of it. Quickly after the announcement of the ball, preparations had begun and now it was the day of the only thing left to do was get Karen ready for her grand entrance.

One of the maids had just finished giving Karen's hair some last minute adjustments when they heard Karen's name being called in the ballroom. "Presenting her royal highness, Princess Karen!"

Karen took a deep breath, smiled at the maid and then swam into the ballroom. She first bowed to the entire assembly, and then when she caught sight of Fumio she waved. She was glad to see her friend and when she took another glance around the ballroom she could see her mother talking to Coral, and all her nerves were washed away.

For a moment, it seemed that everyone was staring at Karen. They were all so relieved that she had returned, but that all was forgotten when they saw how pretty Karen looked. Her hair was down, and she had sheer pink veils draped around her.

Syaoran swam over to Karen and smiled at her. "You look beautiful Starfish."

Karen smiled at her father and then offered her his hand to take. "Papa, how about a dance?"

Syaoran noticed how Karen addressed him and smiled. "I'd love to." Syaoran took Karen's hand and lead her out to the dance floor. As the music started to play, the two of them began to dance. "It's been awhile since you called me 'Papa'."

As the two danced, Karen rested her head on her father's shoulder and smiled happily up at him. Her happiness was truly evident in the way her eyes seemed to shine. "We were so distant from each other before."

Syaoran's smile faded slightly. "I know. I hope you can forgive me for the way I acted before."

"Of course I forgive you, you're my papa and I love you."

"I love you too." As the two danced, some guests also began to dance while others merely watched. "I want you to know that you're very important to me Karen. I know I haven't really shown it lately, but I really do love you."

"I know papa, I know, and you are very important to me as well."

The two continued to dance until the song ended. When they stopped dancing, Syaoran pulled Karen into a hug. He held her close for a moment, then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Karen returned the embrace and then noticed her mother, she waved at Sakura and then pointed her out to Syaoran. "I think mother is waiting for you to dance with her papa."

Syaoran told Karen to have fun and then swam over to Sakura. As she watched her father swim away, Karen noticed Renae swimming up to her. She had a bright smile on her face, and seemed to be excited about something.

Karen was very please to see Renae so happy, but curiosity quickly took over. She just had to know what was making her best friend so giddy. "So are you going to tell me what happened to put such a big smile on your face?"

Renae had a hard time keeping her voice low so no one else would hear as she told Karen the news. "Seiru proposed!"

"Oh Renae-Chan! That's wonderful." Karen smiled at her friend, happy to see her so excited. But a lone thought drifted into her mind and her smile slowly turned into a frown.

"What's wrong?" Renae asked but quickly realized she knew what the answer to her question was before Karen could even give it. "You're thinking about Tsubasa-San, aren't you?"

Karen simply nodded and let out a small sorrowful sigh. "I know now that I mistook what I felt for him as true love, but still I felt such a powerful connection with him."

Renae brushed away a strand of Karen's hair that had floated in front of her face. "I know sweetie. I don't think anyone ever forgets their first love."

"I just hope I'll find love like the love you and Sei Onii-Chan share someday."

"I'm sure you will, and he will make you the happiest mermaid under the sea."

Karen simply nodded and then went back to watching the merpeople dancing around her.

As many different thoughts raced through her head, Karen noticed a handsome young merman swimming up to her. The merman held his hand out to her and spoke in a gentle tone. "Would you like to dance Princess?"

Karen had never met this merman before, but she thought there wasn't any harm in dancing with him so she placed her hand in his and let him lead her out onto the dance floor. As she danced with him she noticed her cousins and uncle and smiled at them, happy to see them enjoying the ball.

Attina noticed Karen was dancing with someone she'd ever seen before. "Father, who's that dancing with Karen."

Triton turned his attention to where Karen was and frowned slightly, a worried expression replacing his calm demeanor. "I believe that young merman is the nephew of Arcticana's king. I'm surprised he is here. Arcticana hasn't been in contact with any other kingdom for fifteen years."

"I wonder why."

"There was a war between Akua and Arcticana fifteen years ago, when the battle ended Arcticana cut all ties with the other five kingdoms because we agreed that the war should have never happened, and that Arcticana never should have tried expanding its territory."

Attina was surprised by her father's story. "I've certainly never heard anything about that."

Triton simply shook his head a finally looked away from Karen and the mysterious merman. "It isn't talked of, the war was long ago and everyone involved wishes to forget it ever happened."

Adella didn't seem too interested in Triton's story. "Well, maybe they feel the same way. He seems harmless to me. Kinda cute actually."

Aquata didn't agree with Adella at all something about the strange merman just rubbed her the wrong way. "I have this feeling that we shouldn't think so lightly of him. He could be dangerous."

As they danced, Karen and the merman talked. "I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm Karu, and my uncle is King of Arcticana."

Karen was a tiny bit shocked by his introduction but she made sure not to show it, after all she was a princess and a princess knew how to hide her true feelings. "I've never met anyone from Arcticana before. I don't really know about your kingdom."

"To be honest, I haven't heard much about Akua either. I was curious about your kingdom, and when I heard about your ball I thought it might be a good opportunity. I hope I'm not being too forward, but perhaps later you could show me around?"

Karen wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to show Karu around but she didn't want to be rude. So she said she was sure she could get one of the staff members to show him around the village.

Karu seemed a little disappointing. "Oh, I see. Well to be honest with you, I grow tired of being surrounded by palace staff. Palace life itself can be rather tedious. I don't suppose you ever feel like that? Sometimes it's nice to just get away from it all, you know?"

Karen simply nodded, she knew just what Karu was talking about, she would much rather be out swimming through the sea than stuck inside the palace all day. "I suppose if I found some free time I could give you a personal tour."

Karu smiled at Karen. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd really like that. Perhaps we could get to know each other a little better too."

Karen simply nodded and then bowed to Karu when the song ended. "I think I better go find my brother now, I still owe him a dance."

Karu returned Karen's bow with one of his own. "Of course, I understand. Would it be alright if I come find you later?"

Karen simply nodded again, and then swam off to find Seiru, when she found him he was in a corner of the ballroom talking to Renae.

"Is everything alright Karen?

Karen simply nodded and then smiled at her brother. "So Renae-Chan told me the good news, congratulations Sei onii-Chan."

Seiru just blushed and nodded his head.

Karen giggled at her older brother and then offered her hand to him. "Can I have a dance? I mean soon I'll have a sister-in-law so this is my last time to dance with you while you are still my only sibling."

Seiru smiled at Karen. "I'd love to." Seiru took Karen's hand and lead her out to the dance floor. The two of them danced together as the song played.

Karen smiled fondly up at her older brother and as they danced she felt more relaxed and at peace then she had in a long time. She felt like all her worries could be forgotten for a while, and she could just enjoy the princess ball that her father had organized just for her.

"Are you enjoying yourself Karen?"

Karen nodded once again and then gently rested her head on her older brother's shoulder, enjoying the safe and happy feeling she seemed to be bathed in. Just having her family nearby brought her great joy and knowing that soon Renae would truly be part of that family made her so overjoyed. "Today has been a wonderful day to remember."

"I'm glad, that's good to hear." Seiru couldn't help thinking about the merman Karen had been dancing with earlier. Something about him didn't seem right to Seiru. "By the way, who was that merman you were dancing with?"

"He said his name was Karu and that his uncle is the king of Arcticana ."

"Arcticana?" Seiru hadn't expected to see anyone from Arcticana. He knew Karen would have been too young to remember it, but Seiru just barely remembered the war between their countries. He hadn't heard anything about them since then.

"He said that since he didn't know much about Akua he wanted to come see the kingdom for himself, he asked me to give him a tour."

"Maybe I should come with you."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you came with us, after all two tour guides are better than one."

Seiru nodded. He wasn't sure what a prince of Arcticana would be doing in Akua, but the fact that he seemed to be getting close to Karen worried him.


	28. Chapter 28

The whole kingdom of Akua was abuzz with excitement. There wasn't a merperson, fish, sea-star, crab, turtle, or even a jellyfish that wasn't talking about it. Their prince was engaged to be married, and soon Akua would have a new princess.

Naturally, Seiru was also happy about his engagement, but other things were also weighing heavily on his mind. The most recent of which was the arrival of the Arcticanian Prince, Karu. Seiru wasn't sure why he had just shown up out of the blue and crashed Karen's princess ball, or what his intentions were in asking her for a personal tour of Akua, but something about the situation just didn't seem right to him. Still, as Crown Prince of Akua, he had a responsibility to treat the visiting prince with courtesy and respect, and he didn't want to ruin any chance of bettering the bitter relationship between the two kingdoms. So instead, he decided to tag along as Karen gave Karu a tour of Akua.

Karu was reluctant to accept Seiru's company, but like Seiru he also didn't want to risk offending the other prince with protest. Still, his attentions remained focused more on Karen than on Seiru. "You have a beautiful kingdom Princess Karen."

Karen smiled kindly at Karu and thanked him. She truly thought Akua was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen, both below and above the waves. "It is all the wonderful citizens that make Akua such a wondrous place to live. If it wasn't for them, Akua wouldn't even be half as beautiful as it is."

"I see." The three of them swam through Akua, with Karen pointing out various parts of the town. They continued until they had seen the entire kingdom. "Well, thank you for showing me around your kingdom. I had a wonderful time."

Karen simply nodded once at Karu and told him that it was her pleasure. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Akua, and if you need anything the servants will be happy to help you."

Karu bowed to Karen. "I do have one more request, if you wouldn't mind."

"No of course I don't mind, what is your request?"

"I understand that per your customs, it's considered inappropriate to refer to someone in an informal way without their permission. I was hoping you might allow you to call you by your name?"

Karen was slightly startled by Karu's request, but she didn't want to offend him so she simply stayed silent. Hoping that Seiru would say something to Karu about how it usually took years before someone was allowed to call another person by only their name.

Seiru was also surprised by Karu's request. He wanted to tell him off for being so forward with his sister, but he once again was afraid of offending him. So instead, he just returned Karen's gaze.

Karen finally sighed and turned her attention back to Karu. "I don't mean to be rude but asking to call someone only by their name isn't done so soon into knowing one another. I don't even address my best friend who I've know for years without a title."

"I guess I must not have worded that right, my apologies. I was just hoping I might be able to drop the title of Princess."

Karen simply shook her head and let out a small practically silent sigh. "Titles and honorifics are a very important part of Akuanian culture they help to show what your relationship with someone is, and dropping them shows that you have a very close and special relationship with someone. Usually the dropping on honorifics only happens between lovers."

Karu let out a disappointed sigh. "I see that I am fighting a losing battle. I had hoped that we might at least be friends, but it seems my Uncle's reputation precedes me. I shall take my leave of you then Princess."

Karen watched as Karu swam off, and simply let her shoulders slump a little in disappointment. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, but it seemed that she hadn't been able to properly explain Akuanian culture and tradition to him. She felt rather ashamed, so she decided to go find him and apologize. "Sei Onii-Chan, I'll be back soon. I need to go explain things to Prince Karu."

Seiru still wasn't too sure about the Arcticaninan prince, but he at least didn't seem to mean any harm. At the same time, he was a little uneasy about leaving the two of them alone.

As Karen swam off in the direction Karu had, she found herself face to face with Riku. When she took a good look at her friend she noticed he seemed rather upset, and she quickly forgot what she had been doing before and became filled with concern for the young merman.

Karen was about to go ask him what was wrong, but then she saw Hanna nearby. Karen smiled in relief thinking Hanna would be able to cheer Riku up, but to her surprise Hanna just swam right past Riku without so much as a glance.

Karen quickly decided to find out what had happened between the two and swam after Hanna. When Hanna finally stopped, Karen noticed they had reached the other mermaids room. She quickly followed after Hanna so she could confronted her right away about what was going on between her and Riku.

Hanna was confused when Karen swam into her room. She hadn't noticed her following her. "Can I help you Princess?"

"I want to know what happened between you and- wait did you just call me Princess? What happened to calling me Princess Karen? I liked when you addressed me by name as well as title." Hanna brushed off Karen's question without an answer, and swam over to the vanity. "Anyway that isn't what I came here to talk about. I need to know what happened between you and Riku-Kun."

"I don't see how that's say of your business, but if you must know I simply realized I didn't know him as well as I thought."

"What do you mean by that?"

Hanna crossed her arms and looked away from Karen. "I heard every word. He was talking to one of the officers about how horrible I am. Made it pretty clear how he really feels."

Karen couldn't believe that Riku would have talked bad about Hanna behind her back. "I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. Didn't he come and explain things to you?"

"I have nothing to talk to that merman about."

"Hanna-San what is going on? You are acting strange."

"Now if you don't mind, please leave. You may be the princess, but this is still my room."

Karen simply crossed her arms and stayed where she was. She wasn't going to leave until she figured out what was going on. "I don't know what happened, but I am not going to leave till you stop acting so strangely."

Hanna glared at Karen, seeming not to care any more that she was in fact a princess. "I won't ask you again. Leave now, or princess or not, I will make you."

Karen simply stayed floating where she was. She wasn't going to leave and nothing would make her. She was going to solve this problem no matter what. "I am staying."

Hanna's glare intensified. She reached out push Karen out of the room, but stopped when she felt a strong sting on her cheek. It took her a second to realize that she had been slapped, and the one who slapped her was Karen.

Karen held her hand up once again and swung it as if she was about to slap Hanna once again, but before the palm of her hand could connect with Hanna's cheek once more, her wrist was grabbed and Hanna held it tightly within her hand.

"I wouldn't do that again if I were you." Hanna's grip was strong, and she didn't seem about to let go.

Karen tried to free her wrist from Hanna's hold but every time she tried Hanna's hold on her only seemed to grow tighter and tighter. It got so tight, that Karen began to feel immense pain and was worried the blood flow might be cut off.

"You're no different Princess. You say that you want to be friends, but in reality you're just bored and looking for something to do." As Hanna spoke, a pearl in the corner of the room began to glow softly. Karen didn't seem to notice at first, due to the fact that she was so shocked by Hanna's hurtful accusation.

Karen tried to tell Hanna she was wrong, but it seemed nothing she said could get through to her friend. With every spiteful and vindictive word that came out of Hanna's mouth, the pearl began to glow brighter and brighter until it was so bright Karen could barely see.

Somehow, Hanna didn't seem to notice the pearl's glowing. She just glared angrily at Karen and then tossed her towards the wall well finally letting go of her wrist. "Now I said leave!"

As Karen went flying through the water into the wall, she heard a strange cracking noise coming from where the glowing pearl was. She quickly realized that it wasn't a pearl, but in fact it was some strange egg.

As the egg hatched, a terrible looking monster came out of it. It started out small, but soon grew till it was almost too big to fit in the room. Hanna finally realized something was going on, but when she turned around to look the monster swung back it's claw and sent her hurdling through the water, head first into the wall. The force of the impact knocked her out, leaving her defenseless.

When Karen saw the monster attack Hanna, she let out a blood curdling scream. The scream echoed through the halls of the palace and quickly drew the attention of a number of servants, as well as guards.

The monster swam over to Hanna and picked her up in it's claws. It then swam out of the room and down the hall.

Quickly the strange beast was surrounded by a large number of guards, each one of them trying to get close enough to it so they could get Hanna out of its claws. However, each time they moved it would try to slash at them with it's free claw, and they would have to swim back so as to not be mortally wounded.

The monster let out a terrifying rawer as it continued to make a mockery of the guards. Just then, it was confronted by none other than Riku, who had a deadly look on his face.

Riku had a spear in his hands and he glared intensely at the sea creature. He wasn't going to let this beast destroy the palace for one thing, but more importantly he wasn't going to let it escape with Hanna. "Don't even think about leaving this hallway you monster, this hall will soon be the last thing you ever see!"

The monster then brought Hanna near it's mouth, and a light started to glow near Hanna's heart. The light grew brighter and brighter, and soon the light formed into a ball and floated above Hanna.

When Karen arrived on the scene and saw the strange orb of light floating above Hanna's body, she let out a cry of utter shock and horror. She didn't know what to do, but before she could even think of anything to do Riku was charging straight at the beast with his spear at the ready.

The creature swatted at Riku, but the tip of his spear still pierced the giant claw. The creature growled as it clenched down on the spear, snapping it in half with ease.

Riku knew that without his weapon he was no match for the giant monster. "Princess, please leave here at once and find O-Sama!" Karen quickly nodded to Riku to show she understood what he was thinking and then swam off as fast as she could to the throne room.

It didn't take long before Karen returned with Syaoran. When he saw the monster, he thought he recognized it from somewhere. He quickly decided to think about that later. He then pointed his scepter at the creature and blasted it, and while it seemed more effective than Riku's spear, it still didn't seem to do much.

Karen watched in fear as the creature swatted away more and more guards, and when she saw it open its mouth as if it was getting ready to eat something, she let out another high pitched scream of terror.

The light floated closer to the creature's mouth, but another blast from the Scepter of Akua left it roaring in pain, and it let go of Hanna. Hanna's motionless body sank to the sea floor until she was caught by Riku.

Riku quickly pulled Hanna close to him, and hoped his body heat would help warm her up. But it seemed that she just kept getting colder and colder. Her skin even became paler and practically translucent.

The monster watched them for a moment before becoming fixated on the light. It then charged towards the light with it's mouth wide open, ready to swallow it whole.

Karen quickly realized what the monster was about to do and swam into action, she moved towards the light and just before the beast could get to it she pulled it tightly to her chest.

But before she could get away, the creature slashed at her with it's large claws and sent her hurdling down to the floor. "You stay away from my daughter!" Screamed Syaoran before quickly swimming between the creature and Karen. "Karen, are you alright?"

Karen simply nodded and continued to cling to the strange orb of light. "I'm fine Papa, it is just a scratch."

"I think I may have figured out what that thing is. If I'm right, you need to get that light to Hanna-San right away. She could die if she's without it much longer.

Karen nodded, and with some help from a few guards was able to get over to Hanna and Riku. Once she reached the two she let the light float over Hanna and watched as it vanished back into the other mermaid's body.

As the light returned to her heart, Hanna's body became warmer and she regained her color as well. Karen let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in, and felt relief wash over her in waves. "Oh Hanna-San, thank Poseidon you're okay."

Hanna opened her eyes and saw Karen and Riku looming over her. Hanna was still mad at Riku, so she focused more on Karen. "Princess Karen? What's going on?"

"It is a little hard to explain, but it seems that somehow a sea monster egg got into your room and has hatched."

The monster looked over at the three of them and charged it's way past Syaoran and the guards. Seeing the creature closing in on them, Hanna shielded Karen and braced herself for the attack, but Riku threw himself in front of her instead. Hanna stared in disbelief for a moment. She couldn't believe what Riku had done. "Riku!"

Riku bit sharply into his lower lip so he wouldn't scream out in pain, but he bit down so hard that he actually drew blood. He didn't seem to care about the pain that had been inflicted on him though, by neither the monster nor himself. He just smiled at Hanna and Karen and told them how happy he was they were safe before he passed out.

Hanna caught Riku as he collapsed to the sea floor. She looked at his sleeping face with tears in her eyes. "You idiot, what did you do that for?"

Karen quickly hugged Hanna from behind and tried to comfort her friend as best as she can, while her father and the other guards continued to fight the sea monster. "He did it because he loves you Hanna-San. When you are in love, you do crazy things."

Hanna glared up at the monster as it tried to make it's way to her. She then charged at it with her hands balled up into fists, and hit it with all of her strength in the chest. The monster was knocked back slightly, but it quickly regained its composure and grabbed Hanna once again.

Just as the monster grabbed hold of Hanna once again, Triton swam around the corner at full speed and aimed his trident at it. "Syaoran! we need to hit this beast at the same time!"

"You're right." Syaoran and Triton held out the scepter and trident towards the creature and blasted the creature with great power, finally destroying it.

Once the monster was gone, Karen and Hanna quickly but carefully carried Riku to the doctor's chambers. Thankfully the doctor was there when they arrived, and in no time he began treating Riku's wounds.

Hanna and Karen stayed with Riku until he woke up. Hanna was still unsure about staying and tried to leave a few times, but Karen was determined to help her two friends and refused to let her leave.

When Riku did wake up, it took him awhile to figure out where he was; but once he did, he let out a small groan. He couldn't believe he had passed out, but before he could start feeling ashamed, worry soon took over and he began to look around the room. Once he saw Hanna though, he let out a relieved sigh and smiled up at her.

Hanna blushed when she saw Riku smile at her, and quickly turned her head away from him. She thought she had him figured out, but somehow he always seemed to prove her wrong.

Karen just shook her head at her friend's foolish behavior, and pushed her towards Riku. "I'll be just outside the door. Hanna-San, you better not leave until the two of you have resolved everything."

Hanna watched as Karen left the room. She was now alone with Riku, but she still couldn't bring herself to say anything to him. For a moment the two just floated there in silence until finally Riku gathered up his courage and told Hanna he was sorry.

Hearing Riku's apology, Hanna finally turned her head back to look at him. She could feel the tears trying escape, but she did everything she could to keep from crying.

Riku looked up at Hanna once again, but this time his smile was filled with sadness, and regret. "I never meant to hurt you, and I'm sorry I caused our relationship to become so strained. I've missed you."

Knowing she couldn't hold back her tears any longer, Hanna turned around completely so he wouldn't see her cry. "M-maybe you should have thought of that before." Hanna tried to keep from looking at him, but then Riku turned her around himself and took her hands in his.

"You're right, I shouldn't have let things becoming so bad. But I tried to explain things to you Hanna, and you shut me out. You refused to listen to me. I tried to tell you how much you mean to me, and how I love you because of your flaws, but you didn't seem to care. I suppose I know why though." Hanna pulled her hands out of Riku's, but instead of swimming away she held onto him and let herself cry into his shoulder. Riku simply held Hanna and let her cry. He let her cry for as long as she could, and when she was done all he did was place a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I love you."

"You really are an idiot, do you know that? A big, fat idiot."

Riku just smiled and nodded. "I know... I know."


	29. Chapter 29

It had been only a few hours since the monster attack, but everyone who worked in the palace seemed to know about it. As Karen swam through the halls on her way once again to find Prince Karu and apologize to him, she heard hushed whispers coming from all the maids, and even her own music teacher. She decided to ignore them, knowing that the monster was no longer anything to worry about and began to push her fins through the water so she could arrive at Karu's guest room as soon as possible.

As Karen turned the last corner, she rammed into someone and felt a pair of strong arms keeping her from falling backwards. When she looked to see whom she had bumped into, she saw Karu's face looking down at her. "Are you alright Princess?"

Karen blushed from embarrassment and nodded, not trusting her voice to keep from cracking. She quickly righted herself and stared down at her fins. For a moment, the two just floated there in silence until finally Karen regained her courage and voice. "Prince Karu, I was just on my way to find you."

Before Karen could say anything else, Karu noticed Karen's wounds from when the monster had attacked her. "Princess, those wounds of yours... I'd heard there was a strange creature wrecking the palace, are you alright?"

Karen had actually forgot all about her injury, and only let her eyes be drawn to it when Karu brought it to her attention. "Oh, this? It is only a scratch, I don't even feel it anymore."

"That's good. So then, what did you want to see me about?"

"I came to apologize to you Prince Karu. It seems that I offended you, and wasn't able to properly explain Akuanian culture to you."

"I think it might have been my fault for not expressing myself properly. Your friend, the one engaged to your brother, she calls you something other than 'Princess'."

"She calls me Karen-Chan, she refers to me with an honorific that shows people the close relationship we share."

"But there are different variations to that, aren't there? If I remember correctly, doesn't it also refer to the difference in one's station?"

"Yes it does, one who has a higher station such as my father is addressed with the honorific Sama."

"You and I are of the same station, so doesn't that mean we can be friends too?"

"I don't see why we can't."

Just before Karu could say anything more, he saw someone swim past the other hallway and looked a little pale. "I'm sorry Princess, could we talk about this some other time? Something just came up." Karu hastily swam past Karen and down the hall, leaving Karen somewhat dumbfounded. She wasn't sure what she could have said to make him leave so abruptly.

But before Karen could even think to go after him, Renae came swimming up from behind. She had seen the moment between her friend and the merman, and wondered if there might be something between them. "Karen-Chan, who was that?"

Karen was a little startled by her friend's sudden arrival on the scene, but quickly smiled at the other mermaid glad to see her. "That was Prince Karu, he is visiting from Arcticana."

"Prince Karu?" Renae thought she'd heard the name before, but couldn't remember where. She decided to ignore the strange feeling and smiled at her friend. "There wouldn't be anything going on between the two of you, would there?"

Karen turns slightly pale and shook her head. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind, and it actually seemed a little ridiculous. "He did ask if we could be friends though."

"Isn't he the merman who asked you to dance at your princess ball?"

Karen simply nodded and rubbed a hand over her uninjured arm. "He seems nice enough, I gave him a tour of Akua."

"Karen-Chan, what happened to your arm?" Renae then remembered hearing someone talking about the monster and looked worried. "Don't tell me that story about a monster getting in the palace is true! Are you alright, does it hurt?"

"It's fine Renae-Chan, I forgot my arm was even injured until Prince Karu mentioned it. And yes the monster was in the palace but it is gone."

"Are you are you're alright?"

"Yes I'm fine."

Renae finally let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad." Renae decided to shake off the worried feeling and move on to a more positive note. "So then, how do you feel about Prince Karu?"

"I don't really feel one way or another about him. I mean he seems nice, but other than that there isn't much there."

Renae thought to herself for a moment. "Well it seems to me that he likes you a lot."

Karen simply shrugged. She didn't know what to really say to that. It did seem like Karu wanted to be her friend, but if he did want more than that, Karen really didn't know what to do.

"Well, perhaps you should try to be friends with him first, and see where it goes?"

"I suppose I could do that, after all there can't be anything wrong with making a new friend."

Renae giggled at her friend. "And perhaps someday, something more will come of it."

Karen turned bright red at her friend's words and frowned at her. "Renae-Chan that isn't funny!"

Renae just smiled at Karen. "Well, even if it's not with Prince Karu, I just know that someday you will meet that someone special."

Karen just smiled at her best friend and nodded. She knew Renae was just trying to help, but she couldn't help but feel both a little embarrassed, and a little sad. "I'm sure he's out there... somewhere."

Renae took Karen's hand in her own and smiled. "Now, what do you say we go do something fun?"

"Okay."

As Renae and Karen swam off down the hallways, they heard voices coming from the throne room. They recognized one of the voices as Syaoran's, but the other one was one neither of them had ever heard before. The unidentified voice was cold, and it sent a chill down Renae's spine.

For a moment the two mermaids seemed frozen to the spot by the voice they heard, and before they could leave the throne room's large doors were opened and Syaoran and the unidentified merman came swimming out.

Renae watched as the merman swam out with Syaoran. She only caught a glimpse of his face, but he had such a stone cold look in his eyes. The merman didn't seem to notice the two young mermaids as he swam off in the opposite direction, but something about him made Renae feel uneasy. She suddenly noticed her heart was beating faster, while the rest of her body began to feel weak.

Karen turned her attention to Renae for a moment and noticed that her friend had grown pale and was shaking slightly. "Renae-Chan are you alright? You look as if you might be sick."

Renae wasn't sure why, but she was suddenly feeling very strange. She held her head and leaned against the wall for support. "Suddenly, I don't feel so good. I'm sorry Karen-Chan, I know we said we would do something, but I think I need to lay down."

"It's okay Renae-Chan, if your symptoms get worse please check in with the doctor."

Renae nodded her head and swam off to her room. She wasn't sure what was causing this strange feeling. Was she sick? Perhaps something from that strange merman? She certainly didn't know who he was. Or perhaps it was simply all the excitement with the monster and preparations for the wedding. She just hoped that whatever it was would pass by quickly.


End file.
